Actions speak louder than words
by inkl0v3
Summary: When the FBI need help to solve a case, they send the three treasure hunters on a vacation with the only witness. Will Riley be able to unlock the girl's secrets before it's too late? RileyOC
1. Chapter 1

**Actions Speak louder than Words**

Wow, another N.T. fanfic…I gotta start getting good story ideas for some other movies. Oh well. My family and I went camping over spring break and this idea suddenly popped into my head. So basically this girl, Kenzie, witnesses a murder and is threatened by the bad guy. After that, she decides that she'll be safer if she doesn't talk- _at all_. (See how many of you guys can do that!) Anyway, Sadusky asks our three heroic treasure hunters to help with the case. Will Riley be the one who figures out the girl's secrets? I don't own anything except Kenzie and agent Davis. Disney owns the rest.

Chapter one

I flew across the dark room, diving between two cabinets. I tried to make myself as small as possible, squeezing every last inch of me into the tiny space. I glanced back over at Professor Kline who was still standing at the foot of his desk, only his lamp on for light.. He had told me to run only seconds before.

Then the door splintered open, and I shuddered as a large man lumbered over to my teacher.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to come!" Kline shouted. The man held up a gun. I managed to turn my head quickly enough before the shot rang out. My hair fell in front of my face, creating a dark veil from the terrifying scene unfolding.

I could hear the man's thudding footsteps as he paced around the room, searching for me.

"Where are you princess? I know you're here!" The man called out tauntingly. I shivered uncontroably as he stalked through the room, my blood going cold. After a few moments I could hear his footsteps heading towards the door as he gave up looking for his prey.

"You sure have a knack for making yourself invisible." He chuckled softly, "But just remember that you may be able to hide from me, but you won't ever be able to run. I'll find you…eventually." His voice trailed off as he left the room.

I stayed bunched up where I was for many hours after that, hugging myself as I shook. I cried as I thought about what I was going to do. Really, the only reason that he would hunt me down was if I told anyone what I knew. There was a way to fix that…

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We were eating lunch when my cell phone rang. I turned my head from our conversation as I answered it.

"Hello Mr. Gates," Sadusky greeted me, "There's something I need your help with. Bring Abigail and Riley too, as soon as possible."

I got the address before hanging up, racking my brain for ideas on why he'd need us. It had only been about two or three months since we had stolen the declaration; surely this wasn't about that.

"Guys, we need to go. Sadusky just called and asked for our help with a case or something."

"Awww, Ben!" Riley whined, his mouth full of brownie, "Can't the FBI handle it until we're done with dessert?"

"No, Riley, he sounded pretty urgent on the phone." I said, smiling slightly at his childish behavior. Leave it to Riley to lighten up a situation. I paid the check and left money for the tip as Abigail and Riley headed outside. Once I joined them Abigail rolled her eyes at me, glancing over at the still-complaining Riley. Leave it to Riley to find new ways to annoy us.

Soon enough we reached the American University and I pulled into a parking spot near one of the buildings, following the swarm of police. This only made me more nervous, seeing as I had had some bad experiences with crime scenes lately. After I parked, we all headed to one of the top floors in the building until we reached one that resembled a cluttered office. Sadusky was there to meet us.

"Long time no see, Mr. Gates and friends." He managed a tight smile.

"What's going on? Why'd you call us?" Abigail asked as he led us towards a desk in the middle of the room.

"I know you all aren't into all this police stuff, but I need you're help with a case." He sighed, leaning against the front of the worn desk. "I'd better tell you what's going on, or at least all we know right now."

"Yeah, that might help." I nodded, feeling at least some of my tension go away.

"Professor Kline, one of the teachers here, was up here in his office last night. An unknown person broke open the door and then shot him for unknown reasons. We have no leads." Sadusky sighed, stretching out the short bit of information into a long string of words.

"Thennn…you have no case." Riley pointed out. "I mean, it's not like there were any witnesses or anything."

Sadusky smiled.

"There was a witness." He led us over to a corner where two agents were huddled around a girl who was sitting on the floor, crying.

"Mackenzie Robins, age 22. Her friends call her Kenzie. She's a student here, majoring in art history. Professor Kline was her teacher. She was up here last night, and managed to hide just before the attack occurred. She's the key to solving this case." Sadusky explained to us. I studied the small girl that was slumped on the floor, trying to ignore the agents as she cried.

"So, what do you need us for?" Riley asked.

"She won't talk to anyone. We found her here this morning, squeezed between those cabinets and scared to death. She hasn't stopped crying since. We've tried to communicate to her, but she won't speak to us. She wrote us a note that said: _must be silent, must stay safe. _We figure that she knows something that's endangering her. That's why we're sending her to a safer place. How do you guys like camping?" Sadusky asked, turning to us.

We all glanced at each other, confused.

"Um, what do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"We've already reserved a riverfront cabin in a nearby campground. The trouble is, I can only spare about one agent to go with her for protection. That's why I figured that you all deserved a free vacation for about a month or so, just until we can figure this case out."

"Alright! A vacation!" Riley pumped his fist. "No more traffic, news reporters, museum openings…"

"Well, I don't know." I sighed, thinking of a big plan that I had hoped I would be able to gain enough courage to pull off soon.

"…noise, crowds, tabloids…" Riley continued.

"Oh, come on Ben, you know that this would be good for all of us." Abigail insisted, rubbing my arm. She sent shivers down my spine as she stood closer to me, leaning her head against my shoulder. She knew how to get what she wanted.

"…coffee, autographs, fan girls, technology…wait, why did I want to go?" Riley asked, losing his train of thought. I smiled.

"Alright, we'll take the vacation." I gave in, partly because of Abigail, and partly to annoy Riley.

"Great! Also, if you happen to get anything out of her while you're there…" Sadusky started to ask.

"I'll try to find something out." I promised.

"Wonderful." He smiled, crouching down next to the girl. She looked over at him when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Mackenzie, there are some people I want you to meet." He said gently. She looked up at us.

"I'm Benjamin Gates, and this is Abigail Chase and Riley Poole." I smiled weakly down at her. Her swollen eyes grew wide at our now-famous names.

"They're going to stay with you at the park, okay?" Sadusky asked her. She nodded at him, looking very owlish with her big, green eyes and mess of dark curls. I had a feeling that this was going to be a very interesting vacation…

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I sleepily leaned against the window, gazing at the sunrise. It had been only two days since…_it _happened, and the unpleasant nightmare was quickly evaporating. I smiled to myself at the quiet noise that filled the FBI's car right now. Agent Davis had come with us. He was a tall man who appeared to be in his late thirties, and had a shock of clean-cut red hair. He always seemed to be smiling and talked very loudly, which seemed appropriate for his size. He wasn't fat, just big. He looked as if he could've been on a football team. Heck, he could've been _the _football team.

He was driving right now, and sitting next to him in the front seats were Abigail and Ben, who were currently studying a map. They were pretty cozy up there, with Davis sitting next to them and all, but it looked as if they didn't mind. Riley was sprawled out on the backseat, barely leaving enough room for me. I had to smile whenever I glanced over and saw his face pressed against the window, mouth open and his unkempt hair sticky out in weird angles as he slept.

I was extremely nervous when I had first found out that the team of famous treasure hunters were going to be staying with me, but my worries had vanished this morning when they had all arrived. Ben and Abigail were arguing about something and Riley looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. In fact, he had fallen back to sleep as soon as we had gotten in the backseat.

Now we were almost there and I could see the sun peeking through the heavy curtain of trees that shielded the camp from the outside world. I took it as a sign of safety and peacefully curled up in my seat, waiting for us to arrive.

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I woke up once I felt the car slow. I groaned as I peeled myself away from the car window, sore from trying to sleep in the confined space. I ran my fingers through my already-messy hair, and lazily sat up as I blinked my eyes open. I noticed the Mackenzie girl gawking over at me and gave a tired smile.

"Good morning." I yawned.

"Nice to see you up, Riley." Ben smiled back at me. I ignored him as the car came to a stop in front of a small cabin. It was painted a light shade of blue and I could see that it had a deck around the back.

"Alright, we're here!" the FBI agent boomed as we all stumbled out of the car. "Algonkian Regional Park."

"Algonkian?" I snorted, "That's a weirdo name."

"Actually, Algonkian refers to a family of Native American dialects." Ben commented. Leave it to Ben to know everything.

"Okay, so this cottage has three rooms, each with a double bed. This is going to be a tight squeeze, but I think that the ladies can share a room, while we can decide between us who gets a room and who gets the couch." He explained as he walked us up the creaky stairs to the porch, removing a key from his pocket. It took him a while to struggle the door open, but we finally managed to enter into the living room/kitchen area of the cabin. "Also, there's only one bathroom." He told us. I saw Abigail look at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Oh, rock-paper-scissors!" I cried out. Agent Davis, or whatever his name was, looked back over to me.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You heard me, let's play some r-p-s for the right to our own room. What, are you scared? I am pretty good at rock-paper-scissors, if I do say so myself." I smiled proudly.

Two minutes later I was trying to make the couch into a comfortable bed. I muttered under my breath as I punched the cushions, hoping that they weren't all lumpy. I couldn't believe that a FBI agent had beaten me at rock-paper-scissors, even if he was two (maybe three) times my size. There was something so wrong about that, like the fact that I had to sleep on the couch. Oh well, it beats trying to share a small bed with someone else.

I remembered that I had left my suitcase in the car and rushed out the door to get it. As I ran down the steps outside, I collided into Mackenzie, who was trying to carry a bag up the stairs. We both fell to the ground, me on top of her. Her luggage was strewn across the ground as she dropped it and it flew open.

"I am sooo sorry!" I apologized as I jumped back up, trying to brush the awkwardness off. She smiled silently up at me as I helped her back onto her feet. It was weird not hearing a response.

"We haven't really been formally introduced yet, have we?" I asked. She shook her head, making her curly hair bounce.

"Well, I'm Riley and … you're obviously Mackenzie." I shook her hand, slightly nervous about her lack of talking. "You don't happen to know sign language-do you?" I asked her. She lost her smile as she shook her head.

"Good, because I don't either." I sighed, making her smile and (almost!) laugh. Then she bent over to pick up her things. I started to help her as she gathered up some clothes. I picked up a book that had fallen into a pile of leaves, reading the cover as I handed it back to her.

"_A people's History of the United States_? You like history?" I asked as she gently took it from my hand. She gave me a look as if to say: 'Uh, yeah! How dumb are you?'

"Oh! Right, majoring in art _history_." I nodded, feeling stupid. "I guess I was just surprised that it was on American history and not just about art."

She shrugged as she put everything back inside her bag. She seemed like she wanted to tell me something as she rummaged around her very hastily-packed luggage. She retrieved a pad of notebook paper and a pen before furiously scribbling something on it. Once she was done, she held the pad out to me. I read through her messy handwriting.

'_I've always been interested in history since I was little. My dad was a history teacher and he'd always tell me the same stories as he'd tell his classes. I've been hooked ever since.'_

_"_Oh. That's cool." I told her as I handed her paper back. She took it with her small, slender hands. I hadn't noticed before how tiny she really was, almost a head shorter than me.

She smiled back at me as she walked up the stairs. I watched her go back inside before turning and walking over to the car.

_'She's kinda hot.'_ I thought to myself, smiling as I unloaded my luggage. This was going to be a very interesting week indeed.

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A/N: I'm leaving for a ski trip with band tomorrow, but I just had to post something up before we left. The reason I had written my other story so fast was because I was on spring break. It helps when you don't have a million test and projects and UIL events coming up. Oh well, I hope I can get the second chapter written quick enough for you guys. It'll probably be a week or two. (I also have to take my drivers test, so wish me good luck!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

You see, I can write long chapters! Hey, did you guys know that they're coming out with a sequel to national treasure (which Disney owns, by the way)? It has something to do the assassination of Lincoln. (Check it out on Anyway, here's the second chapter. I own Kenzie and Davis-nothing more. (Oh yeah, I survived my ski trip…yea!)

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I pulled my black sweatshirt over my head, looking out the dark window. We had only been here for a few hours and I already felt right at home. I had felt an almost immediate connection to Riley, seeing as he was closest to my age and that he was able to make me feel comfortable. The others were nice too, and seemed like they would be able to protect us, even if _he _somehow found out where I was.

I shook my head as the awful memories came racing back, rushing down the claustrophobic hallway into the main room where everyone was gathered for dinner. They all looked up as I ran in, no doubt confused by my frightened look. I took a deep breath and calmly walked into the middle of the room, slumping next to Riley on the uncomfortable couch.

Scribbling on my pad of paper that I now always carried with me, I wrote: '_what's for dinner?'. _I handed it to Riley who studied it for a moment. I watched his alarmingly blue eyes as they tried to decipher my messy handwriting behind his thick black glasses.

"Are you sure you aren't going to become a doctor? You have the right handwriting." He joked, handing me back the paper.

"What did she ask, Riley?" Ben asked, sitting next to Abigail on the smaller sofa.

"Exactly what I always want to know. When's dinner and what are we having?" he smiled over at Ben.

"Don't worry, we have enough food supplies here to last us a few months." Agent Davis reassured us, heading into the kitchen/dining area. He opened one of the cupboards, still talking to us.

"Now, I don't know what kind of food you like, or if you're allergic to anything, so I told them to get a wide variety of stuff. It looks like we have everything from microwave pizzas to fresh strawberries."

"Microwave pizza sounds fine!" Riley replied quickly, jumping up from the couch and heading into the kitchen. I followed almost as fast, hoping that they had pepperoni.

I don't know what it was, but being around this group of people made me forget all the bad stuff that I had left behind in D.C. It was like I didn't have to worry about dangerous things or terrifying encounters. They made me feel like I was…I don't know, like family or a close friend or something. I felt like I could trust them-_almost_.

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I sighed and rolled over, trying to find a comfortable spot on my bed. The blinds on my only window were open, causing moonlight to spill into my room, and I could hear crickets in the still-warm early autumn night. It was almost the end of August, and had been only a few months since the treasure hunt.

_'Come on, Abigail, you need to go to sleep.'_ I thought to myself, knowing that that was the exact opposite of what I was going to do now that I was thinking about our adventure.

Ever since I had stumbled into the whole knights-templar thing, I would spend those moments before sleep deliriously remembering it. At nights still it would thrill me, my heart beating faster as I relived different parts of the hunt. Sometimes I would feel scared or confused, and others triumphant and dazed.

Then there were those nights that I would spend daydreaming about Ben. I don't know what it was, but something about him fascinated me. Maybe it was how noble he was, somewhat chivalrous-to a point, that is. Or maybe it was how he was always able to solve the toughest problems. Whatever it was, something about him made me want to try to stay and figure out all his secrets.

Lately though, he had been acting strange around me. He wasn't telling me something, and I could sense that it was something important. I hadn't brought it up yet because we had been fighting so much lately, what with all the stress and tension the publicity we'd gotten had been causing. I didn't want to strain our relationship to the breaking point or anything; I did however, feel somewhat cheated since he was keeping things from me.

I sighed in frustration, throwing off my sheets and turning in my bed again. If it was so important, Ben would've told me about it. I needed to just forget about all my worries. After all, that was why I had convinced Ben to go on this trip. I figured that some privacy and rest would do us all good. I closed my eyes and tried to remember my favorite parts of our treasure hunt, the happy, exciting times that flew by so quickly.

Finally, I fitfully fell asleep, my dreams laced with memories from those few days we spent with the stolen declaration.

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_I ran through the woods, shivering in my cold sweat. Struggling over the underbrush, I could hear something rushing up behind me fast. My breath was labored and heavy, and hung in the chlly air as I looked behind me into the shadows. At that moment, I tripped over a log and crashed to the damp ground. My foot was twisted in an odd angle, but it didn't hurt; I barely noticed it because of my fear. I laid still a moment, out of breath and sure that whatever was behind was coming to get me at any moment. Instead, there was only silence. I sat up, relief flooding over me as I panted and leaned against the solid trunk. I stared at the full moon that stained the forest a bluish tint._

_All of a sudden, a scream erupted from in the distance, and my head shot up as I tried to tell where it was coming from. There was a light up ahead, barely visible through the trees. I could feel dread and panic seeping into me like poison as I stared, complete desperation and loss overcoming me._

_Whoever, whatever I thought had been behind me hadn't been chasing me, but someone else. Someone inside our cabin. _

I gasped as I sat up, breathing as hard as I had been in my nightmare. I was in a cold sweat too, no doubt from the reality of the bad dream. Gazing around the dark room, I tried to convince myself that I was safe and that nothing was hiding in the shadows.

Shaking my head, I laid back down, exhaling slowly. I had no clue where the nightmare had come from; I hadn't had any since I was little. Even then, none had been as frightening as this one had. It scared the bejeebies out of me. Man, I must be scared if I'm using words like bejeebies now.

Turning on my stomach, I clutched my pillow and cautiously closed my eyes as I tried to forget the nightmare.

_'It wasn't real; everything is perfectly fine.' _I tried to convince myself as my breathing returned to normal. I relaxed more as I thought about how there was a very big, very strong FBI agent just down the hall who would do anything to save our lives. Who wouldn't feel safe if they had their own private bodyguard? Okay, so he isn't _my private _bodyguard, but still. It never hurts to have some sort of safety in some form.

Sighing calmly, I let my mind wander. It stopped once it reached Mackenzie. There was something about her, something so…unique. Sure, she didn't talk, and yeah, at times that really freaked me out, but still. She always seemed to be studying the things around her, picking up on acute details that would've taken my overactive mind much longer to figure out. It was her eyes, her beautiful, cat-like eyes…

Then, I suddenly couldn't get her off of my mind. Everything about her suddenly came into focus and I couldn't help but to notice the simple beauty in all of her. Her chocolate curls, the way her mouth would curl up into a smile, how she always seemed so small. I found myself smiling as I imagined her tiny, delicate hands as I handed her paper back, and the way she would gaze into my eyes when she thought I wasn't watching her. She seemed so mature and adult-ish for her age, whereas I still acted like a fifth-grader.

Shaking my head, I mumbled to myself as I readjusted my position on the lumpy couch.

_'Jeez Riley, you've never fallen for a girl as fast as this. She probably hasn't even noticed you yet.' _

That was probably the truth, too. Riley had never been one to get lucky with the girls, especially the cute ones. I would form out this perfect plan of how I would ask them out, only to watch it crumble each time as I failed miserably. At least if Mackenzie didn't pay any attention to me, I wouldn't have to go through the mortifying aftermath of a failed attempt at a date.

I shuddered as I imagined what it would be like having to put up with her for a month after being rejected by her, and managed to convince myself right before I fell asleep that I wouldn't have to worry about that as long as I followed her example and kept my mouth shut.

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I studied the case file, puzzled. This was the fifth time we had been called to the National Gallery of Art to help with stolen artworks. Whoever had been stealing these pieces of art had been doing so somewhat invisibly. The gallery had a very nice security system, and yet hadn't caught or even accused anyone of the crime yet.

Also, the person was stealing mainly just John Copley pieces. This time it was a piece titled Jane Browne. Anything stolen from an art museum was usually worth some money, so I figured that whoever was doing the stealing was probably hired by another person who then wanted to sell the pieces and make some money.

So far the FBI hadn't been very successful in finding any leads, and I was getting pretty frustrated with all these cases that were piling up without getting solved. They all depended on clues we didn't have, facts we didn't know…maybe I should retire.

The thought had been floating through my mind for some time, but had disappeared after the business with the Gates family. That had revived my interest in FBI work. I had felt triumphant and on top of my game for months afterwards. Then there was the Kline case. If Ben Gates couldn't find anything out from that Robins girl, I don't know what I would do.

I leaned back in my desk chair, sighing as I rubbed my face. I glanced at the clock- 12:23 already. I needed to go home and get some rest, but I sat there for another half-hour, just staring at the case files on my desk.

Finally, moaning as I stood up, I promised myself that if I couldn't get one of these cases solved by the end of the month, I would call it quits. The FBI was capable of finding a younger, more observant head agent than myself, and I wouldn't cling on to something that I was just holding back.

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A/N: Sorry that this was kind of a short chapter, I think I have an acute form of writer's block. So now that I'm back from my ski trip I'm leaving for three days for my grandparent's house for easter. Just keep reading and reviewing and I promise you that I will update as soon as possible!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Hey, long time no see! Yea for new chapters! Sorry it's taking me so long to update my chapters this time: my last story was written during spring break and this one is being written during the time of AP and TAKS test and exams at my school. Oh well, it'll be summer soon enough. And Yea! I finally got my driver's license! (Almost failed the vision test though- hope I don't need glasses or anything). Anyway, NT belongs to Disney, Kenzie and Davis belong to me. I also don't own the game Clue. Enjoy!  
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I was the first person up each morning, so I naturally took on the role of the coffee maker. Everyone in the cabin was an avid coffee drinker and would soon crawl out of their bed once they could smell it. After getting the coffee started, I would read some books. I had the one I brought, but there was also some that Ben had brought himself. Once I had discovered his tower of historical novels, I attacked it and was now well into the first or second book by now.

So it was about the third morning we had been there that I was listening to the coffee maker sputter as I swept through some pages on the civil war. It was pretty quiet until Riley fell off the couch.

"Oommf." He groaned, landing on the floor. I glanced up from my reading as he lazily picked himself off of the floor. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he smiled sleepily over at me.

"G'mornin' Kenzie…" he yawned, standing up and stretching. I smiled as I realized that he had called me by my nickname. He sleepwalked over to the counter where I was reading. "What're you doing up this early?"

_I always get up around eight- I make the coffee, remember? _I wrote down, and then showed to him. He squinted as he read it, still very much asleep.

"Oh, so you're the one who makes the coffee. I wouldn't know, I'm always the last one up. Well, usually I'm the last one up." He mumbled, grabbing a mug and pouring some coffee before sitting next to me. I could smell the rich aroma of the coffee and joined Riley in getting a mug before sitting back down. Riley was looking at my pad of paper.

"I didn't know you could draw." He said, sipping his warm drink. I scooted closer to him to see what he had been looking at. He had found a sketch of mine that I had made of some flowers I had seen outside the cabin.

_Yeah, I always doodle when I'm bored. I'm okay at drawing, but I like reading much better. What do you like to do? _I wrote slowly next to the sketch. He glanced through what I had written.

"I mainly like hanging out with crazy people who steal the declaration and get caught up with the FBI." He said sarcastically. I smiled again.

_No, seriously. _

"Alright, alright." He sighed, turning towards me, "I'm into computers and such, a little science. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I like to do. I mean, the most fun I've had in my life was going on that little adventure with Ben and Abigail."

_Everyone knows what they like to do, what they want to spend the rest of their life doing. Isn't there anything that you enjoy doing more than anything else? _I scribbled down, turning the page back towards him so that he could read. He was sitting so close that our elbows hit each other, making me drop my mug of hot coffee all over my jeans.

"Oh!" Riley gasped, jumping up from his chair as I sprung up, "I am _sooooo _sorry!" he cried, rushing to grab some paper towels. He got them wet before handing them to me. I started to towel off my jeans.

"I really didn't mean to- I just…" he kept babbling nervously as he helped me. Suddenly, he was standing very close. I paused for a moment as I looked up at him. His hypnotic blue eyes were staring at me. I stayed frozen for a moment more, returning his gaze. Then, the coffee maker sputtered. I looked down as he looked away.

_They'll be getting up soon. _I wrote before disappearing to my room.

"I really am sorry!" he called out after me. I smiled at him once more before shutting my door.

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"Thanks for helping me with this stuff, Ms. Chase." Agent Davis said as I helped him lug some boxes from the trunk of the car into our cabin.

"No problem. What's in here anyway?" I asked as he opened the front door.

"Just some candles and matches, maybe some flashlights. The power here at the campground is a little unreliable, so I thought that we might need some supplies since there's going to be a big storm tonight." He explained as we dropped the boxes on the counter.

"Why didn't we bring them in the first night we got here? We've already been here almost a week!" I pointed out as I tied my hair up into a ponytail.

"Well, I honestly forgot that I had brought this stuff, but seeing the overcast sky today helped remind me-" he started. His sentence was cut off by the ringing of my cell phone. I grabbed it out of my back pocket.

"Hello, Abigail Chase." I answered.

Silence.

"Hello?" I asked again, wondering if they had hung up. The other line was quiet. I shrugged before snapping my phone shut.

"Who was that?" Davis asked.

"I don't know. If anybody was there, they sure didn't say much."

Ben entered the room, looking nervous and tired. I walked over to him as Davis started to unpack the items from the box.

"What's the matter Ben?" I asked worriedly.

"Nothing. Why?" He asked, turning towards me.

"It's just that- you look kind of…stressed out, or something. I mean, I thought that this vacation would help you but-"

"I'm fine." He replied, a little too quickly. I frowned.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really." he sighed, smiling over at me. "I've just had some trouble falling asleep, and I've been worried about trying to help Sadusky out with this case. I mean, we've been here about a week already, and I still don't know very much about Mackenzie."

I leaned against him, hugging his waist.

"It'll be okay, we still have plenty of time. Besides, it doesn't have to be just you that she tells something to, it could be any of us. It would still help the case, even if you weren't the one who figured it all out. Just relax, Ben. We'll figure it out." I reassured him. He wrapped his arms around me.

Sighing, I asked (nonchalantly, of course): "Is there anything else that's been bothering you?"

He paused for a second, as if considering something, before answering "No."

I turned my head away from him. I had seen through him in that tiny, miniscule pause before his answer. Something was being kept from me, something important. I just had to figure out what.

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"Alright, who's ready for some family game night?" I asked excitedly as I bounded into the kitchen area. Everyone was there except Mackenzie. They all looked as if they had been caught doing something wrong.

"What is this, a secret meeting?" I asked jokingly.

"Shhh, Riley!" Ben whispered loudly. "Come in here before Mackenzie comes out of the bathroom."

I trotted into the kitchen, confused at what was going on. Davis was squeezed between the fridge and the corner of the room, and Ben and Abigail were huddled in front of the cabinets.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We were just discussing Mackenzie." Ben replied, looking behind me to see if she was there.

"What?"

"We were trying to figure out how to find out something important about this case. That's why we're here." Abigail explained.

"I thought that we were here to enjoy some much needed vacay time." I returned angrily.

"Shhhhhh!" they all shushed me. I raised my hands in defense, coming more into the room.

"Alright, alright…" I grumbled softly, "Tell me what's going on already!"

"We made a pact." Davis informed me, speaking as soft as I had ever heard him speak before.

"What, are we suddenly the three musketeers?" I asked, exasperated.

"Riley, will you calm down?" Ben said in his stern, no-nonsense tone. He sounded like my dad when he talked like that. But, as I looked into his tired eyes, I saw that he was exasperated too.

"Fine." I said, looking down at my shoes. He relaxed.

"I simply suggested that we try a little harder to figure this case out a little more." He explained.

"And we all agreed that if Mackenzie let anything important slip, that we would tell the others about it." Abigail added.

"Sounds fine to me." I said, pretending to be interested and involved in their little secret-sharing business. But, as I gazed back into the living room, I couldn't help but think about Mackenzie's silence. Surely she was keeping quiet for a good reason, not just to hold out against the FBI.

And that was when I knew that I wasn't going to tell them anything, not one thing. Not about how her dad had been a history teacher, or how she could draw better than anyone I knew, or that she could see right through me and my joking around. I would keep her secrets, even if it meant holding out against my best friend.

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I couldn't help but giggle as Riley and Ben were fighting over game pieces. I never knew that Ben could be just as bad as Riley. Looking over at Abigail, I saw her roll her eyes at them.

"I called Col. Mustard, and you know that!" Ben complained.

"Yeah, but I'm ALWAYS Col. Mustard!" Riley countered.

"So why not give me a turn?" Ben asked.

"Boys!" Abigail yelled, cutting off their argument as they froze in place, looking over at her. She took a deep breath before attempting a smile.

"Riley," she asked in a soft voice, "Why don't you let Ben be Col. Mustard this time?"

"But-" Riley started to protest.

"DO I HAVE TO SEND YOU TO TIMEOUT?!" Abigail yelled, glaring at Riley as she lost her patience.

"Alright," Riley grumbled, crossing his arms, "But it's no fair; you're on his side."

I glanced across the game board at Agent Davis and he met my glance. We both smiled widely, trying not to burst out laughing. Abigail regained her posture before choosing Mrs. Peacock. I grabbed Ms. Scarlet and Davis reached for Mr. Green. Riley had to settle with Prof. Plum.

We were well into the second round or so of Clue when the lights flickered. I finally noticed how stormy it was outside. The trees were being whipped around in the wind, and rain was pounding against the windows.

The electricity finally decided to go out and we were left in the dark.

"Everyone stay calm, I'll go get the flashlights and candles." Davis reassured us as he started lumbering into the kitchen area.

"Aw, man!" Riley whined, "I almost had everything figured out!"

I gave his shoulder a shove (he was sitting right next to me).

"Hey!" he gasped. I nodded my head over to Abigail as Davis clicked on a flashlight. Riley glanced over to her.

I had noticed that she wasn't really enjoying this trip so far, and tonight she was in an unusually bad mood. She was currently sitting by herself, twirling her game piece around in her fingers as she stared into space.

"What's with her?" Riley whispered to me. I shrugged, but gave him a look.

"What, you think it's me?" he whispered, surprised. I shook my head, but gazed at him sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm not a mind reader, y'know?" he complained softly. I reached for a flashlight that Davis was handing out, and started to write on my pad of paper.

_I don't think it's you completely. I think that something's bothering her, and that you're just getting on her nerves._

"Moi? Why would I be getting on her nerves?" he asked. I looked over at him again, exasperated.

_Right now, you're getting on MY nerves!_

He read my sentence silently, sobering down a little.

"Sorry," he said apologetically, "I guess I'm just that kind of person. I mean, I can't help that I'm not good at telling when I've been Mr. Funny way too long, I just know that I'm the one here to calm everyone down; you know, _comic relief_." He sighed, gazing down at his hands.

I sat back, amazed that he had just shared something that sounded so personal and secret with me. Smiling, I continued to write.

_It's fine. Everyone is just in a bad mood for some reason tonight. Look, we'll probably wake up tomorrow with the sun shining and the birds singing and there'll be no more drama (I'm not guaranteeing that, of course). _

He brightened a little. I looked back into his face just when Davis started lighting some candles. The fluctuating light defined Riley's features in the darkness of the living room. Riley glanced up and noticed me staring at him. I immediately dropped my gaze, pretending to be very interested with my hands. That's when I felt his fingers under my chin, and then he was gently lifting my face back up to his eye level. He had a small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth, and I could feel myself blushing, nervous at his gesture.

"There we go, plenty of light!" Davis announced in his thundering voice. It shattered whatever was happening between me and Riley at the moment, and he dropped his fingers from my face quickly, as if he was afraid of getting caught. My gaze lingered where his hand had placed it for a moment longer, before returning to the game board.

"Alright, whose turn was it?" Ben asked.

"Um, I think it was mine." Riley offered, picking up the dice. His hands were shaking.

I pushed the moment out of my mind for awhile as I focused on the tiny figures moving through secret chambers, accusing others with little weapons made out of plastic. It would be nice to think about later though, when I was falling asleep. Much better than the whole ordeal that had brought us together. Much better than…_him._

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A/N: Who else loves to play clue? Guess what character I always play. That's right, Prof. Plum! Alright, who loves this story so far? Then go and Review! I love getting feedback on my stories. I'll try to write as fast as possible. The next few chapters are going to be much more eventful and fun. I've been waiting forever to write them, so please keep reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

I'm alive!! Sorry, but I've been dealing with some MAJOR problems! We got a new computer and my dad didn't copy my folder that had all my stories in it, so I had to start this whole chapter over again. I was a few paragraphs from finishing it too. So sorry for the long wait, but this chapter is finally here! Remember, N.T. belongs to Disney, and Kenzie and Davis belong to me.

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I rubbed my face as I started to read Kenzie's sentence as we stood in the kitchen. Outside the sun was just rising. Running my eyes down the page, I read:

_We're out of coffee._

"Out of coffee? How can we be out of coffee?" I mumbled, still very much asleep. She rolled her eyes, exasperated at how calmly I was taking this.

_Imagine Riley without coffee._

"Oh." I said, realizing that we really needed to get some more coffee, and soon. "Here, you save whatever coffee that's left for Riley. I'll go get Abigail and Davis up." I told her.

_We're also out of eggs, milk, bottled water, and bread._

"Fine," I sighed, "Make us a shopping list and we'll go and restock on some things."

She started to scribble stuff down on her pad of paper as I walked back down the hallway. I headed to Abigail's door first. Knocking softly, I called out gently.

"Abigail? Abby, you awake?" I opened the door, peeking around the edge. She was still asleep, tossing under her covers. Smiling, I walked over to her and gently laid my hand on her shoulder.

"Abigail, honey, wake up." I whispered. She stirred slightly.

"Ben?" she mumbled sleepily. I was about to answer her when she started to mutter.

"Ben…why don't you trust me?" she yawned, still asleep. I froze, my mind running over her sentence over and over again. What did I do to make her think that I didn't trust her? I shakily removed my hand from her shoulder, staring down at her. She rolled over in her sleep, not even realizing that I was standing here.

Turning quickly, I stumbled to the door. As my hand rested on the doorknob, I looked back at her, puzzled and slightly hurt. Maybe I wasn't so ready to go through with my plan. I lacked too much confidence, and now she lacked confidence in me too. I closed her door, biting the side of my cheek as I headed for Davis's room.

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Riley woke up around noon, heading instinctly to the coffee-maker. Pouring him some lukewarm coffee, he joined me at the kitchen counter.

"G'mornin' Kenzie." He sighed. I smiled as I wrote on my paper.

_More like Good Afternoon._

"Alright, good afternoon Kenzie." He smiled, sipping the cold drink from his mug. "Hey, where is everybody? Don't tell me that I'm the first one up today." He replied, looking around at the empty cabin.

_Ben and the others went to go get some stuff we needed. Looks like you're stuck with me for most of today._

_"_Cool. Hey, what's this?" he asked, lifting the page of paper I had been writing on to glance at the one underneath it. It contained a drawing. I quickly snatched the pad of paper away from him, glancing nervously at him. He sighed, putting down his mug and standing up.

"Alright, alright." He called back to me as he shuffled on down the hallway, "I know you don't want me to see whatever you're drawing cause you think it's awful and everything, but just let me know when you change your mind. Because you know what Kenzie? I think that you're an awesome artist."

I smiled as he disappeared, laying my paper back down on the counter when he was gone. I lifted the top page slowly and stared at my sketch that he had almost seen. I was glad that he hadn't seen it, because then he would've found out how closely I had studied him to make such a perfect drawing of him. Everything from his bright eyes, to his goofy smile and glasses. I had to smile every time I glanced at it.

Man, I was _so _crushing on him.

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"Alright, do we know how long that this place has been deserted?" I asked as the agent led me into the warehouse where they had found the missing pieces of art from the National Gallery.

"We're not sure, but we figure since the murder happened that no one has been around here." He explained, leading me to a table where the art was being set down on.

"What do you mean, 'since the murder'? The Kline murder?" I asked, puzzled.

"You mean no one told you? They just found the latest missing piece in the professor's desk while they were cleaning it out." He replied, glancing over at me.

"Why wasn't I informed about this?" I asked sternly.

"It only happened a few moments ago, but I'll make sure that next time you're the first one informed of any new developments." He spewed out nervously, fumbling with a pen in his hands. I stared at him for a moment until he went to help the others with the art. I looked down at the table, my vision going fuzzy.

There was a time, only a few months ago, that I _was _the first one informed. Back then I was on top of the game, but now…I don't know. I just knew that I needed to finish this case if I wanted others to recognize that I was still the top agent.

I quickly dialed Ben's number on my cell phone.

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I walked slowly by the Potomac River, just thinking. The river ran right outside our back porch and always looked perfect for swimming. Too bad that swimming was prohibited; You could only swim in the kiddie water park at the camp's entrance.

Ben had been gone all day and had called just a few moments ago, something about going over to Sadusky's for something. Probably some more super-secret FBI stuff, but it's not like I cared. I was the one who got to spend all day with Kenzie.

I found a group of trees by the shore and laid down in the shade, closing my eyes. I must've dosed off for a few moments but when I awoke I saw another set of eyes staring back at me. Scared, I jumped up yelling, only to trip on the end of my jeans and fall over into the water. Standing back up, soaking wet, I heard Kenzie laughing hysterically at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat at the music of her laughter. Turning back around, I plastered an evil grin on my face.

"So you think that that's funny?" I asked, sloshing back over to her. Once she realized what I was going to do, she dropped her paper and made a feeble attempt at escape. I caught her easily and carried her down to the river, squirming in my arms. I threw her into the cold water, but she somehow managed to pull me in with her. I waved my arms around as I plunked back down into the river. Kenzie and I stood back up, both soaking wet.

"Hey, no fair!" I cried, "I already fell in once, you didn't have to pull me in with you."

She just laughed and splashed me. I watched her as she quickly skimmed her hands over the surface of the water, transfixed on her perfect, slender fingers.

And that was when I came up with a plan. Smiling, I suddenly dove under the water, propelling myself along the river's bottom. I heard her stop splashing, looking around for where I had disappeared to. I stealthy swam behind where her feet were, pulling my legs beneath me as I prepared to pounce.

Then, I leapt out of the water and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her under water before she could scream. Holding her there for a few seconds, I finally let her go and returned to the surface. Laughing triumphantly, I waited for her to join me.

She didn't come back up.

As the moments passed more and more quickly, I grew even more frantic. I groped around under the water, hoping to find her, somewhere. I called her name out, each time growing more panicked. Finally, I stopped, and the sound of the thrashing water grew quiet. I listened for any sign of her, anywhere.

Suddenly, something grabbed my ankles, pulling me underwater again. I tried to scream, but instead swallowed a mouth-full of river water. I opened my eyes to see what had attacked me.

Kenzie was there, right beside me with this wide grin on her face. I couldn't help but notice her hair, which floated around her head like a halo. Small bubbles escaped from the corners of her mouth as she giggled underwater.

I stood up again, sputtering as I tried to crawl back onto dry land. I could hear Kenzie following me. I threw myself on the ground, coughing up water. She sat next to me, glancing over at me occasionally with worry. She finally decided to lie down. I stopped coughing and tried to catch my breath.

"That," I gasped, "was not…funny."

She gave me an apologetic look. We laid there for awhile in silence, just staring at the leaves above us. I happened to notice a patch of delicate, white flowers growing nearby. Making sure that she had her eyes closed, I picked a few and sat behind her. I started to tangle the flowers into her hair, weaving them into her curls. She glanced up at me, a sweet smile on her lips. I could feel myself smile crookedly back over at her, my hands suddenly seeming very clumsy.

Awhile passed before she picked up her notebook.

_We should head __back;__ it looks like it's going to storm again._

I glanced up at the dark sky and nodded. I stood up and reached my hand out to her, helping her up. She didn't let go. I didn't either. We walked along the shoreline back to our cabins, enjoying the fact that, for once, there was nothing to spoil the quiet moment between us. We both knew that it was better to just smile shyly at each other instead of discussing what we both knew was happening. All too soon we were climbing the steps to our porch again.

_You go __inside;__ I'm going to stay out here a little longer to dry off. Shower, change, whatever you need to do._

I nodded at her, almost tripping on the door step as I went inside, still smiling.

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I had almost fallen asleep when Riley returned. I heard him open the door. I sat back up in the lounge chair I was in, gazing over at him.

"The bathroom's free." He called out. "Also, Ben just called. It doesn't look like they're going to make it back tonight. Seems like the storm has already hit D.C."

I nodded. Standing up and walking over to the door. He smiled as I walked past him, so I gave him a playful shove. Smirking, I went into the bathroom, ready for a long, hot shower.

The only shower in our entire cabin had very low water pressure, causing one to take a very long shower; especially when that someone was daydreaming about the night ahead. I started to shampoo my hair, watching as the small flowers that Riley had weaved into my hair floated down the drain. I was a little nervous, what with everyone being gone, but I trusted Riley. I knew I could trust Riley.

As the water turned cold, I flipped the faucet off and jumped out of the tub, shivering as I reached for a towel. Then, I caught sight of my body in the mirror. I dropped my hand in despair, all my fluffy daydreams popping out of my mind. Riley would never want me, not if he knew what I looked like underneath everything. Has he noticed that I always wear long pants, that I never wear any low necklines or sleeveless tops? Would he ever want to look at me again if he knew?

I grabbed a towel and started to dry off, before getting dressed and rushing to my room. Finding my pad of paper, I started to scribble my story down, everything. If Riley ever found out, if he ever needed to know, and if I trusted him, I would let him read it. But it wasn't likely.

I stashed the paper in my suitcase, hiding it under some books. It would hopefully be safe there.

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I looked out the window, seeing the trees whipping in the wind and lashed by the rain. In the distance lightning struck, and I could just make out the flashing lights of an ambulance as it sped off down the road. I closed the curtain, turning back around to the warmth of Sadusky's living room.

He was currently down the hallway, helping Ben and Davis set up a sleeper sofa where they could sleep. I was going to sleep on the couch in this room. Noticing a bookcase, I stood up and walked over to it. I started to study the book spines, reading their titles. Sadusky sure had a lot of free-mason reading.

I had just started to study a ring decorated with a certain design that someone had left on one of the shelves when Sadusky walked in. He was carrying an armload of blankets that he laid on the couch's arm.

"Here you go, Ms. Chase. Bathroom is down the hall, and if you need more blankets then there is a closet out here." He told me, looking over where I was standing.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, yes." I replied distractedly. He looked over at me with worry.

"Is everything ok, Ms. Chase?"

I was about to say that everything was fine, but I heard myself blurt out:

"It's Ben, he's keeping something from me."

Sadusky paused, staring over at me. I looked down at my feet, embarrassed that I had just said something so stupid to a FBI agent. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions too quickly, Ms. Chase. Just try to observe him for the next few days, see if you can find out what it is that's bothering him on your own." He offered awkwardly. I nodded, still not looking up. He started for the door.

"Oh, and Ms. Chase?" he asked. I glanced over at him.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I left my ring, would you?"

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I joined Riley in the living room where he was laying some blankets out on the ground. I could smell popcorn heating up in the microwave.

"Hey Kenzie!" he jumped up, "I was just thinking that we should have a movie night, what with this weather and everything." He motioned towards the glass sliding doors that led out to the porch. I saw the rain beating down, falling sideways from the hard wind. I nodded as I opened the beeping microwave, removing the hot bag.

Riley threw a few pillows on the ground before joining me at the kitchen counter where I was pouring the steaming popcorn into a large bowl. I gave him a questioning look as he popped a few kernels into his mouth.

"What?" he asked.

_Why aren't we sitting on the couch to watch movies?_

"What? You don't want to sit on the floor? But it's so much more comfy. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, the couch is facing the wrong direction." He said, a weak smile on his face.

_Couches can be moved._

"Why would you want to spend all that time moving couches when we could be enjoying some movies?" he asked innocently. I gave him a look.

"Alright," he sighed, "I've been trying to move that couch for the last half hour and it won't budge. Now can we _please _go and watch something?" he pleaded. I laughed, tossing a few kernels at him.

The lights flickered before the power finally decided to give out.

"No! Why does the power always go out?" he cried. I rolled my eyes, starting for a flashlight and the matches. Riley continued to mutter about how everything in this cabin hated him as I lit the candles around the room. Riley, pouting, sat back down on the blanket. I joined him once all the candles had been lit.

"Well…actually, this isn't so bad." He murmured, glancing around at the flickering candlelight. I hugged him, smiling. He was tense for a moment before relaxing and hugging me back. Thunder rumbled in the distance as I grabbed a pillow and laid down on my stomach, facing him. He did the same, gazing into my eyes. It was quiet for a long time.

"Kenzie…" Riley started. "I, what I mean is- that we, you know…" he stuttered. I giggled softly. He smiled at me. "What I mean to say is that, I really, really like you, a lot."

I nodded, leaning in closer to him.

"And I think that you really like me too, although I could be wrong…" he continued. I shook my head, only looking at his blue eyes.

"And, well, I was just wondering-" he almost finished when I kissed him. I closed my eyes, his taste melting on my lips. After awhile, he pulled away. I looked back over at him, noticing him smiling shyly.

"Well, that was, that was…" he struggled to get out the right word. I put my finger up to his mouth, quieting him. Sometimes you don't need words to be understood. We both lay back down, gazing at each other. I listened as Riley talked, the wind howling in the distance.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I can't stop thinking of you, and I can't help but to smile when I see you, and I enjoy being around you. I've never felt this way before, and it's kind of scary, but still. You have really beautiful eyes- did you know?" he murmured half-asleep, continuing like that for awhile. We lay next to each other, and then I was asleep, the last thing I was aware of being Riley as he kissed the top of my head.

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Ah, help! I'm drowning in the fluff! There you go, they finally kissed! Don't worry, I will add more Ben/Abigail in the next chapter (even if it is a lot of drama!), I just had a lot to cover in this chapter. Also, there will be some more excitement in the next chapter. Sorry if this seemed kind of rushed, I was trying to rewrite this whole thing and get it up online. Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Next chapter! This one will probably be better written than the last one since it's not written in a hurry. National Treasure belongs to Disney, and Kenzie, Davis, and any random bad guys belong to me. The words in **bold **in this chapter are from the song **Collide** by Howie Day. I love that song- it makes me happy! 

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I could hear birds in the background and became aware of the sun shining when my eyes fluttered open. I felt…calm, and warm. Then I noticed that Kenzie was asleep next to me, her dark hair reflecting the first rays of the morning sun. I had my arm around her shoulder and her head was resting in the crook of my neck. I smiled, hugging her closer.

**The dawn is breaking**

**A light shining through**

**You're barely waking**

**And I'm tangled up in you**

**Y****eah**

We must've fallen asleep last night without even realizing it; we were still dressed in yesterday's clothes. I noticed that last night had been the first night in a long time that I actually got some sleep without my recurring nightmare. She shifted in her sleep; I could feel her feet curled around my ankles.

**I'm open, you're closed**

**Where I follow, you'll go**

**I worry I won't see your face**

**Light up again**

**Even the best fall down sometimes**

**Even the wrong words seem to rhyme**

**Out of the doubt that fills my mind**

**I somehow find **

**Y****ou and I collide**

She stirred silently, turning onto her side. I gazed at the peaceful look on her face. Her breathing was smooth and slow, matching her heartbeat. I watched the rising and falling of her chest as I continued to lay down, not wanting to get up.

**I'm quiet, you know**

**You make a first impression**

**I found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind**

**Even the best fall down sometimes**

**Even the ****stars refuse to shine**

**Out of the ****back you fall in time**

**You**** somehow find**

**You and I collide**

Then, there was a shuddering in her breath, and her eyes fluttered open. As soon as she saw me, she smiled.

**Don't stop here**

**I lost my place**

**I'm close behind**

"Sleep well?" I whispered. She nodded.

"Me too." I breathed, closing my eyes again for a second.

**Even the best fall down sometimes**

**Even the wrong words seem to rhyme**

**Out of the doubt that fills your mind**

**You finally find **

**You and I collide**

**You finally find**

**You and I collide**

In the distance, I could hear the slamming of a car door and the quiet rustle of something being unpacked. Kenzie, turning her head to the sound, sat up. I was about to protest when I heard Ben's voice outside.

**You finally find**

**You and I collide.**

I jumped up quickly, knowing how incriminating this looked, me and Kenzie asleep together. She glanced up at me with worry as I helped her to her feet. I pushed her into the kitchen as I started to pick the blankets up, throwing them back on the couch. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying not to make it look as if I had just woken up five minutes ago. Kenzie watched me as I picked up all the pillows.

"We're back! Hey, you guys already awake?" Ben asked as he held the door open for Abigail who was carrying two grocery bags.

"Yep, you bet, we're up. Yeah, got up…long time ago. No sleeping here, just trying to tidy up a bit." I replied nervously, going around to all the candles as I tried to pry them off of the ground. They were all pretty much cemented there by melted wax. Ben and Abigail exchanged a look as I tried to act normally.

Kenzie, smiling at me as I fumbled with the melted candlesticks, headed outside to help Davis with the rest of the bags. Ben and Abigail cornered me as soon as she disappeared.

"So…Riley." Ben started. I stayed where I was, not looking over at them. "Learn anything new yesterday?"

"New? Like how to waltz?" I asked, organizing the candles by height.

"About Mackenzie!" Abigail told me, pulling me up by my collar.

"No-no, no, not really." I stuttered, turning to face them, but still not making eye contact.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked. I looked him in the eye, pausing for a moment.

"Yeah, positive." I sighed. He continued to stare at me a minute longer.

"Alright, then. Let us know if she tells you anything important." Ben sighed, turning away. Abigail stayed where she was, staring at me. I glanced back up at her.

"What?" I asked.

"We need to talk later, you and me." She said before going to unpack.

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I had made everyone dinner, spaghetti, so that we could catch up with Riley and perhaps get something out of Mackenzie. I had also hoped that this would calm Ben and Abigail down, who both looked as if they were about to kill each other over something. As I placed the plates heaped with noodles and sauce on the table, I saw Mackenzie enter with Riley.

"Hey, Davis. I didn't know that you cooked." Riley greeted me, quickly dropping Mackenzie's hand. I blinked, sure that I had just seen them holding hands. Shaking my head, I decided not to bring it up, what with everyone's nerves around here.

"Yeah, I know how to fix up a few things. Are Ben and Abigail coming out soon?" I asked, grabbing a roll of paper towels and setting it on the table.

"Yeah, I think Ben was in the bathroom and Abigail was just changing, so they should both be out here soon." He replied, helping me set the table. Mackenzie sat down, doodling in her notebook. I happened to grab a glance at what she was drawing, and almost dropped the fork I was carrying. She had drawn Riley perfectly.

She caught me gaping at her artwork, and quickly put a finger to her mouth, signaling for me to be quiet. I nodded at her as she glanced over to Riley with panic, as if she didn't want him to see it.

"Mmm. What smells so good?" Abigail asked, coming out of her room.

"I made us some spaghetti for dinner." I explained, grabbing some paper cups from the pantry.

"I can see that, and it looks delicious." She smiled, sitting down by Mackenzie. Ben came out of the hallway, smiling stiffly as he sat down. I noticed that he sat on the opposite side of the table from Abigail. I gave a worried glance to Riley who had also noticed. He returned me with a shrug as he sat on the other side of Mackenzie. We were soon all eating silently. Clearing my throat after a few moments, I decided to try to save our dinner conversation.

"So…" I started, "why's everyone so quiet tonight?"

"Well I was just…thinking." Ben replied, finishing slowly as he looked up at us.

"About what?" Abigail asked. Ben glared at her as if she were insulting him.

"Maybe about why someone doesn't think she can trust me!" he told her fiercely. I dropped my fork.

"What? You-you're mad at me!?" Abigail retorted. "You're the one keeping secrets from me!"

"What secrets?! What are you talking about Abigail?!" Ben yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

"Okay… guys? I think that we just need to-" Riley tried to calm them down.

"Shut up Riley!" Ben snarled at him, turning his anger onto his best friend. "Okay, you're the one keeping secrets from us! Why won't you tell us what happened yesterday, hmm?" he asked. Riley shrunk away from him, looking surprised.

"I think that we should all try to be just a _tad _bit quieter…" I suggested, pinching my fingers together to show how little they needed to change their volume. No one paid attention.

"Why are you yelling at him?" Abigail demanded, standing up.

"Yelling? Yelling!? I'm not YELLING!" Ben stated, clearly yelling his head off. "And why are you taking his side anyway?"

"Um, hello? Yeah, I don't think that anyone heard me before, so…" I tried to intervene, but ended up being ignored again. Mackenzie was looking overwhelmed as the argument grew.

"Well maybe because he actually _trusts _me!"Abigail cried, pointing towards a bewildered Riley.

"What convinced you that I don't trust you anyway?!" Ben defended himself.

"Stop screaming Ben! I can't take this, alright?!" Riley entered the fight again. "Maybe I didn't tell you guys about yesterday because NOTHING HAPPENED! Ever think about that, Ben?!"

"EVERYONE QUIET!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, standing up. Unfortunately, I happened to knock my plate over, which fell on top of the spoon that was resting in the sauce pan, which was then catapulted onto Abigail. Tomato sauce splattered her shirt and jeans, and a little was flung onto her face and hair.

Everyone froze. Abigail was quiet for a moment before rushing from the table to her room, tears falling. I sighed.

"I'm going outside." Ben muttered, pushing his plate away and standing.

Riley and Mackenzie were still sitting at the table, looking slightly dazed after what had just happened. I bent over the table, slowly picking up the mess. Mackenzie started to help.

"I'm going to go see if Abigail is alright." Riley said quietly.

"What about Ben?" I asked. He turned back to me.

"I think I have better chances of survival if I corner Abigail." He offered.

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"Abigail? Abigail, can I come in?" I asked, knocking softly on her door. I could hear sobbing from inside. Then, the door was opened a crack, only revealing one of her eyes.

"Riley? I thought…never mind." She sighed. "Sure, come in." she opened the door a little wider. I slunk into her room, feeling as if I were trespassing. She sat back down on her bed, a wet washcloth in hand as she tried to get the tomato sauce stains out of her jeans. We were both quiet for a long time. She kept crying silently.

"Look, I'm really sorry-" I began, getting up to go.

"No, it's fine. I needed to talk to you anyway." She replied, looking back up at me, tears still in her eyes. I sat back down.

"I know that Ben let you off the hook earlier, but I know that something happened. What's going on between you and Mackenzie?" she asked, setting the washcloth on her dresser.

"Nothing, nothing is going on. I don't know what you're talking about." I said confidently, knowing perfectly well what she was talking about. She had that girl radar, the one that alerts women when anything slightly romantic is happening.

"Riley…" she started.

"Alright, alright already!" I sighed, standing up and starting to pace. "The thing is, I really, really, _really, _like her."

"Really?" Abigail asked, a smile on her face.

"Oh ha, ha." I said sarcastically, "Go ahead and laugh. Riley, the geeky computer nerd, has fallen in love with someone. I was doing pretty good at hiding it too, until yesterday when you all decided to abandon me and leave me alone with her."

"We had to, we were out of coffee." She replied more seriously.

"Yeah, yeah, excuses. Anyway, I was just-wait. We're out of coffee?!" I asked. She managed a small laugh.

"You're always so good at cheering people up Riley, and I'm sorry that I was pretty harsh to you for most of this trip so far." She apologized.

"Yes you were. Anyway, as I was saying, it was later when I was outside by the river that we got into a water fight, and-"

"Water fight?" she asked, slightly amused.

"Look, do you want me to explain this to you, or what?" I asked, knowing that no girl could refuse a sappy love story.

"Alright, continue." She sighed, lying on her stomach as she watched me pace. I started to talk as fast as I could.

"Like I was saying, after she almost drowned me we were laying down on the shore, and I started to braid some flowers into her hair. I don't even know why, I just thought that they would look nice in her hair. No, they would look beautiful, because that's what she is, beautiful. So then we decided to go back to the cabin, and I helped her up, but we each didn't let go of the other's hand. We walked back holding hands, and have you noticed how slender her fingers are? Then, after we were both clean and dry, I was setting everything up for a movie when the power went out. I thought that our perfect night was ruined, but then she lit all these candles and sat with me on the floor."

"On the floor?" Abigail asked as I tired to catch my breath.

"Yes, I couldn't get the couch to move. They seriously must've glued the thing to the floor."

"Why would they do that?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"I don't know, to stop people from trying to steal it, or something. Now, please let me finish?" she giggled, nodding. "So there we were, on the blanket together, and all of a sudden, I start blurting out how I feel about her and everything, and she let me know that she felt the same."

"How?" she asked. I paused, remembering it.

"Sh-she kissed me. It was-it was…well, I can't say, but it was pretty awesome. So then we must've fallen asleep with me chattering on about how she made me feel, and we awoke in the morning together. Then you guys had to barge in and ruin the moment. I almost thought that we were going to get caught." I sighed, lying down next to Abigail on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Did I mention that she draws really good, or that she's a total book worm? I can't stop thinking about her eyes either." I murmured.

"Wow. You really like her, don't you?" Abigail asked.

"You could tell?" I glanced over at her. She nodded, smiling. I smiled back at her.

"So what is this whole Ben thing about?" I asked her, propping myself up on my elbows. It was her turn to sigh and pace as she stood up.

"I know he's been keeping something from me, he just won't tell me what. I- I just wish that I hadn't mentioned anything to him, even if he did keep a secret from me." She explained softly.

"No, I think its okay for you to worry; he's just obviously been worrying majorly about something. Tell you what, I'll go talk to him later and see if I can't find out what's been bothering him." I reassured her, standing back up.

"Really?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Yeah, we might get in a fight, but at least I know that I have a better chance of patching things up with him than you would." She gave me a look as I headed for the door. "What? I'm not the one dating him."

She playfully shoved me out into the hallway.

"Goodnight, Riley." She smiled.

"Goodnight Abigail." I smiled back as she closed her door.

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I had walked out on the porch after Ben had gone back to his room. Gazing up, I studied the stars. There was a slight breeze out that ruffled my hair and shirt sleeves. That was when I could hear someone behind me. I turned around smiling, expecting to see Riley there.

It was _him. _I was about to scream when he covered my mouth. I could barely breathe through his meaty hands.

"Miss me, princess?" he asked as an evil grin spread across his face. I struggled in his grip, my eyes wide with fear.

"I just came to tell you that I was in the neighborhood. That was a smart move babe, deciding not to talk. It probably saved your life. You still cost me most of the paintings anyway, and that's why I decided to pay you a visit. This little vacation of yours should end in a week or two, right?"

I nodded stiffly.

"Good, that's when I'll move on. Maybe somewhere farther south, somewhere where they won't find me. I'll chill for a few months before starting back up again. I just want you to know that for the rest of your time here, I'll be keeping an eye on you. Sweet dreams, princess."

He threw me down, running off into the dark. And then he was gone, leaving me alone on the empty porch. I could feel tears running down my face. I shivered, still feeling his cold hands on my arms. Quickly I returned back inside for a sleepless night.

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Uh-oh, random bad guy alert! Will Kenzie finally tell Riley everything, will Ben and Abigail kiss and make up, and will Sadusky keep his job? Keep reading to figure it all out. Oh, and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

National treasure is copyrighted to Disney, while Kenzie and Davis and bad guy (still don't know what his name is…) belong to me. Note: whenever you see He in italics (_He) _that means that it was the bad guy. Sorry that this is kind of confusing. 

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I groaned, not wanting to get out of bed, not after the mess I had caused yesterday. Davis had made us a nice dinner and I had to go and ruin it with my stupid temper. Abigail probably never wanted to see me ever again, her or Riley. At least I hadn't yelled at Mackenzie- although she won't talk to me anyways. I heard a knock on my door.

"Ben? Ben, you in there?" Riley called. I moaned tiredly as he cracked the door open.

"Oh, hey, I didn't wake you up or anything- did I?" he asked nervously.

"No, Riley. I'm just surprised that you're actually in here talking to me after how I was last night." I replied, sitting up in my bed. He came into my room fully, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey, that's fine. I know that you never mean it when you get like that; we've all just been under too much stress, what with being in this cramped little cabin. You think the FBI could've sprung for the cabin with the Jacuzzi tub, don't you?" he smiled weakly, trying to cheer me up.

"What did you want to see me about?" I asked him, chuckling softly.

"Oh, it was just- last night, while you were cooling off outside, I went in to talk to Abigail." He told me quietly.

"Really? Is she alright? I didn't hurt her- did I?" I asked, perking up a little bit.

"No, no, she's fine. She was just really worried about you, that's all. She's convinced that you're keeping something from her, something big. Is that true?" he asked, looking over at me. I glanced over at him, sighing. Should I tell him? It wouldn't hurt, and it might make it easier somehow.

"Riley, the thing is…" I started slowly, slightly unsure.

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I met Abigail in the hallway while I was heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Oh, Mackenzie? Ben and Davis and I are going to go on a long walk, you know? To kind of patch things up a bit after last night. Davis is there for our own protection, so we don't rip each other apart if we get into another fight." She told me, smiling weakly. I nodded slowly, remembering how I had encountered my old enemy last night. I needed Davis here for _my _protection.

"Don't worry, Riley is staying. I thought that it might be nice if you two had some _alone _time." She smiled, squeezing my arm. I glanced at her in surprise, nodding. How on earth did she find out? Riley was making sure that our relationship was staying top secret.

She smiled secretly before heading into the living room. I smiled and walked happily into the bathroom. Closing the door, I didn't see him before he had pushed me against the door.

"So, you finally found yourself a guy. 'Bout time too, I was thinking that you'd never have the guts to ask someone out. Now you just lack the voice." His hot breath whispered into my ear. I struggled weakly, wishing that he would just disappear. My struggles only caused my jacket to fall off my shoulder, revealing the ugly skin hidden beneath it. That caused him to stop, glancing at it. Then, he grinned widely.

"Although I bet that he'll never want you after seeing your secret, am I right?" he asked, tossing me to the ground. I crashed to the floor, landing on my side. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes as I pulled my jacket up over my shoulder roughly, rubbing my chest where he had pinned me down.

"Oh, now don't be shy princess. It's not like you can hide it forever. Why don't you just go ahead and show him, save yourself a little pain? I'm sure that you'll eventually find someone who'll accept you. Heck, maybe even this guy won't mind. You'll just never know until it's too late, will ya?" he laughed cruelly as he climbed out of the small window. I rushed to shut and lock it once he had dropped down outside. Then, I turned around, crying. I slid to the floor with my back against the wall, resting my heavy head in my hands.

He was right, he was right. That was the only thing I could think the few next minutes. Shakily, I stood up and started to undress, turning the shower on to scalding water.

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I happily made us some microwave taquitos, humming to myself. The others were gone, and it was only me and Kenzie for the next hour or two. Once she was done with her shower, our wonderful night would begin.

Although, she had been in there for a long time, maybe too long. I frowned, walking slowly towards the bathroom. I could hear the shower running. Then, I noticed the steam pouring out of the doorframe. I paused, panicked. How hot was the shower? Surely that wasn't safe?

"Kenzie?!" I cried, running to the door. I could hear someone whimpering inside.

"Kenzie?! Kenzie!" I screamed, throwing myself against the locked door. I could only think of her as I tried to break the door open. Finally, after a few hits, the door splintered open and I stumbled into the very warm bathroom. At first I couldn't see much, because of all the steam. And then, there she was, sitting by the wall and crying.

"Kenzie! Kenzie are you alri--" I started to ask, heading towards her. That's when I noticed that she was naked, her clothes strewn across the floor. But that wasn't what had stopped me. She glanced up at me, and then stood slowly, studying my face as I gaped at her.

Her skin was mottled with bruises, all colors. Black and purple, bright blue on her shoulder, a queasy-looking yellow near her hip, and the livid green speckled throughout most of her torso. I shamefully gazed at her, seeing nothing but her tortured skin. I finally glanced away, all the colors making my vision dizzy. Closing my eyes, tears spilt down my face. Her beautifully colored skin hurt to look at.

Then, her hands were on my face as she turned my gaze back to her. I looked down still, embarrassed about everything suddenly. Her fingers rubbed at my tears, and I finally looked into her eyes. Her eyes, such a beautiful green, were wide and seemed to hold the whole world. Light reflected off of the tears that flowed from them, and I could feel my heart break.

That was when, in an almost inaudible voice, she said the first words I had ever heard her speak.

"Am I really that hideous?"

Her voice was cracked and small, almost as if she were scared of me. Had I actually been able to speak right then, I don't know what I would've said. At that moment, I could see straight into what she was feeling, right into her soul.

She thought I hated her.

And then, the pain…oh, the pain in the back of my head! I tumbled to the ground, hearing her scream at the dark shadow behind me. But that was the last thing I was aware of as I fell into the blackness.

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I carefully washed Riley's face with the wet washcloth, staring at his beautiful features. I didn't blame him for hating me; anyone else would've. It was just- he made me feel so safe and like I was actually pretty. Sighing, I adjusted the covers on my bed, pulling them around his chest.

I had dragged him into my room, hurriedly washing out his wound on his head. _He_ had hit him on the back of the head with a board, I don't even know why, but _h__e_ was suddenly standing in the bathroom door, and had hit Riley. All I could see at that moment was Riley as he crumpled on the ground, tear stains running down his cheeks. Somehow, I had managed to get _him _out of our cabin, and the door closed and locked. After Riley was safely settled in my room, I had gotten dressed in some sweat pants and a tank. I didn't care anymore who knew, now that the one person I had cared for more than anyone here had seen me.

I stroked Riley's cheek, sighing. He mumbled something unintelligent and shifted, returning to consciousness. I held his hand as his eyes fluttered open. His gaze landed on my face, and he managed a smile. For a moment, it was as if nothing had happened, as if we had just woken up yesterday in each other's arms.

Then, reality set in as his gaze slipped down to my bare shoulder.

"Kenzie…wha-" he whispered, trying to sit up. "Ow." He moaned, reaching for his head as he fell back down on my pillow. I put my finger to his lips, knowing what I had to do. He looked back up at me with wide, frightened eyes. I tried to smile weakly at him, trying to reassure him.

I went to my suitcase and rummaged for the paper that I wrote everything on. Finding it, I went back to Riley. Leaning towards his ear, I whispered in my quietest voice:

"Read this, talk later."

I gave him the paper and left the room. Once I was in the hallway, I sighed shakily and sunk to the ground, once again laying my head in my hands. I was so scared, and now not even Riley could help.

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I watched as Kenzie went into the hallway, false bravery following her. I knew that once she was out of sight, she was going to break down. But I couldn't follow her; I had to read this very important piece of paper.

Glancing down at the notebook paper, I slowly ran my eyes over the scribbled words.

_Riley, this is in case anything happens. Usually I wouldn't trust anyone, but you're different. No one knows completely __everything about my past- but I'__ll tell you. I grew up with my mom and dad. I loved my dad, I already told you about how he got me into history. Anyways, a few years ago he died. _

_It was just me and my mom then, depending on each other. Somehow, we made it until I was out of high school. When I went off to college, on a scholarship and loans and as much money as we could scrape, she told me that she would always be here for me. She never said anything about me being there for her._

_I met Professor Kline the end of my junior year. He seemed nice, and reminded me of my dad. I trusted him. He always gave me odd jobs to do, kept me busy and I grew away from my mom. We still talked to each other, but it was very rarely. I didn't go home that __summer;__ instead I took a job at the National Gallery, giving tours and such. Professor Kline helped me get the job._

_It was the beginning of the next year that I went up to his office one night. He seemed a little stressed and told me that he needed me to do an errand. He told me to take a package down to this one warehouse. I thought that it was kind of weird, but agreed anyway. Little did I kn__ow that someone was waiting for __me._

_They didn't expect me to be deliverin__g __it;__ they were expecting Kline- t__hat's why they attacked. I don't know how many of them there w__ere__, I just remember the pain as they beat me up, taking the package and beating me up more. That was where Kline found me in the morning, bleeding and cold in the street. _

_He __took me back to his place, fixed me up, but he wouldn't take me to the hospital. He was upset, saying that he was in too far, that he would be caught._

_That's when I learned that he stole paintings from the National Gallery, and sold them to…I never really found out. I don't even know the main guy's name, but from there on, I made deliveries for Kline. I lost complete contact with my mom, not wanting her to get involved. I sent her the money that Kline gave me, just on unmarked envelopes._

_The main guy, whenever I was late or something was wrong, or maybe he was just in a bad mood, he would beat me up more; called me p__rincess.__I just remember the pain and the nights that I would crawl back to Kline's to have him fix me up. I never went to the hospital, because I now thought that I was in just as far as Kline, that I would get in trouble. By then I had these scars, these bruises. I didn't mind, I had a tough skin._

_Then, _he _came and shot Kline the one night I was in his office. It was when he told me that he was going to hunt me down that I decided to stay quiet, to stay safe. And it's worked, up until now._

I looked up, my mind rushing. She had just trusted me with everything she knew about the case, everything that Ben was trying to find out.

Breathing hard, I stood up and somehow walked into the hallway, despite my hurting head. Kenzie was still there, crying on the floor. She looked up once I had come out.

"Kenzie…Kenzie, y-you trusted me this much? You told me everything you know, just because I need to know?" I asked, bewildered. She just nodded, back to not speaking. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

"Oh, wow…" I started to pace, not sure what to say. I finally came and sat next to her, staring at the wall in front of us. We both grew quiet. She leaned her head against my shoulder, and I took her hand. She had her notebook with her, and she wrote something down with her free hand.

_Do you hate me, now that you know?_

"What? No! Of course not! Why would you think that?" I told her, shocked.

_No one has really ever found out about-you know…everything._

"Look, Kenzie," I sighed, turning to face her, "Tonight was…crazy. I mean, I'm still not really sure what happened."

He _knocked you over the head with a board. I'm not sure why, but he's here__ and he's watching me._

"Y-you mean, the guy that hurt you?" I asked quietly. She nodded. "Oh man…" I breathed, not wanting to get caught up in the middle of all this.

_He told me, before you came into the bathroom, that you wouldn't want me after you found out, that no one would want me. _

I could see her hand shaking as she wrote; she was scared. I was scared too, but there was nothing I could do right now; we needed the others here, and fast. She burrowed her head in the crook of my neck, and I could feel hot tears of shame splashing onto my skin. I held her, just staring at the wall.

That was where the others found me when they came in, Kenzie asleep on my shoulder. I glanced up as they came in, the creaking of the door louder than the silence that had surrounded me.

"Riley? What…" Ben started as he walked over to me, stopping when he noticed Kenzie's shoulders.

"Ben," I started slowly, knowing what I had to do, "There's something you need to know…"

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A/N: I'm so mean to Riley, he's always the one getting hit in the head! I promise you that there will be more Ben/Abigail in the next chapter! I just had to get Kenzie's secret out in this one. Note: I don't know how one would steal art from the National Gallery, I've never even been to the National Gallery before (I live in Texas- it's kind of a long drive to D.C.!). Bear with me if I'm not the best at coming up with crimes or how they take place or who is involved. Just stay put because chapter seven is coming.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

A/N: I'm back with another chapter! Yea! Remember, National Treasure belongs to Disney and Kenzie, Davis, and random bad-guy belong to me. 

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I woke up to the sounds of other people talking quietly. Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around, puzzled at where I was. I couldn't remember what had happened the last time I was awake. It looked like it was still dark outside, and I could hear Ben and Riley arguing about something out in the kitchen. That's when I remembered.

Suddenly I got a sick feeling down in my gut. Getting out of the bed, I walked silently to the door, opening it slowly. I continued out to the hallway, listening to their conversation.

"…but we should try to contact Sadusky first." Ben was finishing. I saw Riley was sitting at the table with Ben and Abigail and Davis, his back turned to me. I started to breath heavier.

"You're not listening Ben! She told me that the guy that Kline was selling paintings to is here, and I know it too." Riley muttered, rubbing the back of his head. I was now in the living room, still moving forward, being propelled by something, maybe curiosity or disbelief.

"The reason she has all those ugly bruises is because of that guy, and we need to get more agents down here to catch him!" Riley continued. I winced, realizing that I was still wearing the tank top that exposed my hideous shoulders. I saw the others staring at me as if I were a ghost.

Then, Riley turned around, finally realizing what was wrong. His eyes met mine for a split second before I shook my head and ran back to my room as fast as I could, hot tears of betrayal running down my face.

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"Kenzie!!" I cried, running after her. She had heard me tell them, heard me tell them everything she had trusted me with.

She slammed her door shut before I could reach her. I could hear her sobbing inside, thudding to the ground as she turned the lock.

"Kenzie! Kenzie!!" I yelled, banging on her door. She ignored me. I slammed my fist into the door in frustration, and then leaned my back against it as I sunk to the ground. Sighing, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. This was all wrong, everything was too crazy.

A crumpled piece of paper was shoved out at me from under the door, and I gently picked it up, smoothing it out so that I could read it.

_I trusted you, trusted you with everything, and you told them everything I told you. I can't believe this! How could you? I feel so, so vulnerable. They know everything about me now and it's all because of you! I thought that you liked me, that you cared about me, that we were friends! But __a friend would make sure that his friend__wouldn'__t get hurt,__ couldn't get hurt,__ and you obviously can't do that._

"Oh Kenzie…" I breathed, dropping the paper and folding my legs up. I laid my head in my arms resting on my knees. How could I do this to her? What else could I of done? I closed my eyes, trying to block out this night from my mind.

And that was when the nightmares started again.

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I sighed as I started for my room, passing a restless but sleeping Riley who was curled up outside Kenzie's door. Abigail and I had patched things up a little, but our relationship still seemed as if it was in constant jeopardy. On our walk we had managed to get away from Davis and just talk. I apologized for the other night and she told me that she was sorry that she thought I was keeping something from her. We had kissed and made up, but it had cost me a great deal of confidence.

I went into my room, secretly opening one of the top drawers in my dresser. Rummaging around a bit, I silently removed a little blue velvet box. I didn't have the courage to snap open the box, but I had already memorized what the ring looked like. I had rehearsed it a million times in my head; what I was going to say, where we were going to be. I never could gather enough courage, and now it looked as if even if I did gain the guts to do it, she might not say yes.

Hiding the box beneath a pile of unorganized socks, I had to smile. The great Benjamin Gates, the man who had found the Knight's Templar treasure, was scared about asking a question to a girl.

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I was going down the hallway to my room, rubbing my face sleepily, when I saw Riley. He was curled up asleep outside Kenzie's door.

"Oh Riley…" I sighed sadly, pausing in front of him. I went over to the couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around him. It looked as if everyone was having relationship troubles besides Davis. First me and Ben, now Riley and Kenzie. I guess that's what you get out of a free vacation.

I went into my room, closing the door quietly. I walked over to my phone, deciding to do something if no one else was. I started to dial Sadusky's number.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" a deep voice breathed into my ear. My blood ran cold as I dropped the phone.

"Hello? Ben, Abigail…are you there?" I could make out Sadusky's voice on the phone, sounding as if he was a million miles away. I pressed myself up against the wall, trying to gulp in air as I stared at the very large and menacing man who was blocking my door. He had a crooked smile on his face, making it seem as if he was enjoying this. He closed my phone, tossing it aside.

"Who are you?" I demanded, starting to shake with fear.

"Who do you think, Ms. Chase?" he sneered, getting closer. My eyes were wide with fright as I gazed at him, transfixed. It was the man who was after Kenzie, and now it looked as if he were after me too.

"If you come any closer, I'll-scream." I tried to threaten him, anything to stop him from getting closer. It didn't stop him. I tried to open my mouth to yell, but managed only a weak moan as he got even closer. I started to edge to my bed, hoping that somehow I'd escape.

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I bolted upright, something waking me up. I was still sitting at the kitchen table, everyone else asleep. Or, so I thought. I had heard a creak or something, a groaning sound. Something wasn't right. I stood up and silently made my way down the hall. Riley was in the hallway, Kenzie's room was quiet. Ben poked his head out of his door as I walked past.

"Did you hear that sound?" he whispered. I nodded, going straight to Abigail's room. He followed me, being as quiet as he could. I leaned my head against the door, listening. It was quiet for a moment or two; then I heard a footstep.

I burst open the door, running right into a man who was about the same size as me, if not larger. He had Abigail by her throat, about to strangle her, it seemed. Once I rammed into his back, he dropped her onto the floor. She gasped, sucking in as much air as possible. Ben yelled out in surprise at the situation, casting a helpless, worried glance to Abigail on the floor.

I hit the guy as hard as I could, trying to get him away from her. Instead, he turned to me. He started to punch me, but I ducked just in time. I led him out into the hallway where a very confused Riley was being tripped over by Kenzie who was trying to get out of her room to see what was going on. They ended up on a pile in the middle of the floor. I gave them a concerned look as I tried to avoid stepping on them and being hit by whoever this guy was.

Somehow, we ended up in the living room where he grabbed a hold of a lamp and threw it at my head. I once again ducked and ran straight for him, tackling him to the ground. I successfully pinned him down for a moment, whispering fiercely into his ear:

"Get out, _now."_

He threw me off of him, clobbering me with his fist once before retreating out of the door. I rubbed my face where he had caught me with his punch, wincing at the soreness, before locking the door and going back to Abigail's room.

Everyone had clustered in there, Ben leaning over Abigail in concern as she sat up. Kenzie and Riley were standing next to each other, but avoiding each other's glances. I went over to Abigail quickly.

"I-I was about to call Sadusky, and I turned around, and he was…he was standing right there." Abigail said shakily. Ben hugged her, looking down at the ground.

"It's alright- he's gone now." I reassured her.

"But he'll be back." Riley spoke up, gaining an enthusiastic nod from Mackenzie. I sighed, my mind quickly forming a plan.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Ben, Riley, you two load the car- carefully. Mackenzie, you'll help Abigail keep watch. If you see anything- _anything_- you yell for me, ok? I'm going to call Sadusky. We're going to get out of here as fast as possible." I told them, grabbing the phone as I spoke. No one argued.

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I grabbed my phone almost instantly, even though a minute ago I had been asleep. Glancing at my alarm clock as I sat up I saw that it was about two in the morning.

"Hello?" I asked. I could hear hurried movement in the background, as if somebody were moving things.

"Sadusky?" Agent Davis answered, breathing heavily. "There's been a situation."

"Is everyone alright? What's happened, who tried to call me before?" I asked him, standing up. I flicked a lamp on as I started for my desk.

"Everyone's fine and we've figured out most of the case. However, there is a suspect out here who has gotten into our cabin what sounds like multiple times, trying to harm us. We're packing up right now to leave. You need to get some people out here- fast." He explained quickly. My mind rushed as I took it all in.

"Sir?" Davis asked, worried by my silence.

"Davis, I'm going to call you back as soon as possible, okay? I'm going to get a unit ready to go." I told him before hanging up. I felt…excited at this sudden breakthrough. Maybe I wasn't the last person to find out about stuff all of the time.

Shaking my head, I started to dress quickly, picking my phone up again. I needed to get out there very fast if I wanted to help them, they sounded as if they were in trouble.

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The car was almost full and it had only been about half an hour since we started. The full moon was out, drenching the campsite in a pale blue light. I paused from packing the car when I heard Davis arguing about something on the phone.

"No- sir, sir! Listen to me, we can't just…but, you want us to leave her?" he was saying. I picked up one of the last suitcases as I watched him run his hand through his hair, pacing in the living room.

"Riley, is that all?" Ben asked me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it is." I told him.

"Great, then we can get out of here finally." He sighed in relief. Abigail and Kenzie smiled at the thought of going back home.

"No we can't." Davis called out as he walked over to us. "Sadusky just called me with a plan, and you're probably not going to like it."

"What?" Ben asked him. Davis looked fearfully out at the dark trees that surrounded us.

"Let's go back inside to talk."

We all followed him into the cabin, making sure that the door was locked and that no one was following us.

"Sadusky… he thought that that guy would try to hurt us or our car if we all try to escape at once. He doesn't think it's safe for all of us to go, and he wants to leave someone behind where he thinks they'll be safe."

"Who?" I asked, dreading the answer. Davis sighed and looked over at Kenzie. Her eyes grew wide.

"We're not leaving Kenzie behind." Ben said, a tight smile on his face, the one he always wore when dealing with Ian. "She's the one we're trying to protect."

"He wants us to lure the suspect out towards the gate where a unit will be waiting for him. He wants me to stay with Kenzie, to make sure that he follows you. He wants you to pretend that Abigail is Kenzie, just in case he sees you leave. I tried to make him change his mind, but…" Davis held his head in his hands, exhaling slowly.

Everyone was quiet.

"Is he positive that this is going to work?" I asked. Everyone looked up at me.

"What?" Davis asked.

"Is he one hundred percent positive that this will lead that guy away from Kenzie?"

"He sounded confident on the phone, I couldn't change his mind." Davis said. I nodded slowly, my gaze going over to Kenzie.

"I say we try it, just in case this psycho is out there waiting to throw a car bomb at us, or something." I told them. It was quiet for a moment.

"Alright, I'll drive." Ben stood up, taking the keys from Davis. He headed outside to start the car. I saw Abigail switch jackets with Kenzie. I walked over to where they were.

"Kenzie…" I said softly. She looked up at me, her face hard. "I- I just wanted-" I tried to tell her. She spun around and walked away, heading over to Davis. I watched her go.

"I just wanted you to be safe." I whispered. Abigail hugged me, trying to reassure me. I followed her numbly outside to the car.

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Aww, how sad! Keep reading and reviewing, this story is almost over and done with. I'm not even really sure how it'll end, but it's been fun to write and (hopefully) fun to read.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

A/N: Hang on to your hats people, this chapter starts right away. Don't blink or you'll miss it! Alright, this is going to be a verrry tense, suspenseful chapter and also one of the last. Thank you to those of you who are reviewing! Remember, N.T. characters belong to Disney, and the others belong to me. Alright, read on! 

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I was staring out the window at the early morning gloom when the car crashed. One second I was thinking about Kenzie, and the next our car was wrapped around a tree. I fell to the floor at the impact, banging my knee into the back of the driver's seat. I looked up at the shattered front window, jerked awake by the reality of what had happened.

"Ben? Ben- are you alright?!" I asked, trying to pry my door open.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so." He said shakily, dropping his hands from the steering wheel as he turned towards Abigail.

"I'm fine too, just a little shaken." She said as she climbed out of the wreck. Ben crawled out after her, not being able to get his door open. He limped over to a tree trunk, leaning against it as he rubbed his foot.

"It looks like we ran over that board over there, the one with the nails sticking out of it." Ben pointed to an old piece of wood in the middle of the road. I saw that he had a small cut on his forehead, no doubt from a shard of glass from the window. Abigail was pulling out her cell phone to contact Sadusky.

I looked back at the forest, seeing a familiar sight. The full moon had tinted the trees a faint blue color, very much like in my nightmare. Just thinking about it made my heart speed up. All of a sudden, I got a feeling of dread. Something was wrong, Kenzie and Davis were in the cabin and the cabin wasn't safe. I pulled out my cell phone, praying that I had service out here. Luckily, I did.

"Ben, what's our cabin's phone number?"

"Why do you want-"

"Just tell me!" I demanded, growing more panicked.

"703-585-4555." He told me. I immediately dialed it, waiting for someone to pick up. Finally, someone answered. They didn't say anything, so I knew that it must be Kenzie.

"Kenzie? Kenzie, are you there?" I spoke quickly into the phone. The other side was silent. "Kenzie, listen to me, that guy is still here. I-I'm not sure where, but he could be going back to the cabin right now! Listen- you have to get out of there as fast as possible!"

Nothing.

"Kenzie?" I asked softly. The phone hung up. I didn't move for a moment, panting into the buzzing receiver. Looking up, I snapped my phone shut.

"I have to go, I think they're in trouble!" I told Ben and Abigail as I ran off into the woods.

"Riley- wait!" I heard Abigail cry out after me. I ignored her as I scrambled over a boulder, hoping that I could get back to the cabin in time.

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"Kenzie? Kenzie, are you there?" I heard Riley on the other end of the phone. I could barely make it out, seeing as how all the lights in our cabin had been flipped off. I struggled in the chair I was tied to, trying to scream despite the duct tape that held my mouth shut. _He _just smiled coldly as my eyes grew wide.

"Kenzie, listen to me, that guy is still here. I-I'm not sure where, but he could be going back to the cabin right now! Listen- you have to get out of there as fast as possible!" I could hear Riley panic, trying to warn me.

I glanced through the shadows at the dark shape on the ground that was agent Davis, trying to stay calm. The man just stared at me, starting to lower the phone back into its cradle.

"Kenzie?" I could barely make out Riley whispering before the phone was hung up. I stared at it, wrenching my arms and feet as I tried unsuccessfully to get free. _He _laughed cruelly.

"Looks like he was a bit late, huh princess?" he asked, heading over to one of the kitchen counters. My breathing was labored as I watched him rummage around for something. He finally found what he was looking for and returned to the living room.

"You know what, I don't think that they have anymore use for you, that's why they left you behind. They got what they needed from you and just left you for me." He muttered. I shook my head, closing my eyes. That wasn't true, I knew it wasn't true, and yet….

"Even that one guy, the one that you liked, he thought that it'd be better to leave you behind." He whispered into my ear. I opened my eyes, glaring at the intimidating man in front of me with sweltering hate. He had no right, _no right, _to say things about Riley.

I leaned backwards, causing the chair to turn over and my feet to hit the guy square in the jaw. Landing on my back, I wriggled my wrists until I felt the duct tape loosen around them. I had almost gotten one freed when he lunged on top of me.

"You think you can get away? You think you can just leave this all behind and start a new life with a clean slate? Well, I don't think so. I'm starting to think that you're no purpose to me either." He snarled, holding a sharp knife dangerously close to my throat. My chest heaved up and down as I stared at the glinting metal, frozen with fright.

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I picked up my ringing phone as I waited at the park's entrance. The black sky of midnight was fading into the dark grey of pre-dawn light as my FBI unit stood with me, along with a few local police officers.

"Sadusky?" I heard a breathless Abigail answer.

"Yes? What's happened?" I asked quickly.

"Look, we got into a wreck and totaled the car. Riley ran off back to our cabin, something about it not being safe. I-I think that guy might be there, or out here with us." She spoke fearfully, trying to remain calm.

"Ms. Chase, Don't worry. I'm going to send my agents in right now, and we'll make sure everyone gets out safely. Stay where you are, we'll be there as soon as possible." I reassured her before hanging up. "Alright, let's go in!" I called out to the people around me.

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Breathlessly, I stopped. Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, I got the feeling that I shouldn't have taken the shortcut through the woods. How was I ever going to make it back to the cabin in time? Leaning against a trunk, I paused to catch my breath.

And then the nightmare came back to me. I remembered in my dream how I had found my way back to the cabin, just through that patch of bushes right there and then following the trail by that old tree. Hurriedly, I stood up and started jogging again. It was probably no more than five minutes before I burst through the wall of trees into the small road and parking space outside our cabin.

Panting, I stopped to stare at the dark windows of our cabin. Wait, hadn't we left the lights on? Why would they be off? The power couldn't be out; I had just called a few moments ago! Something here was definitely wrong.

I sprinted to the back sliding door, looking in through the glass. Squinting, I could barely make out a shadow on the ground.

"Bad day to forget my glasses…" I muttered before realizing what the shadow was. "Oh man!" I gasped, heading back to the front door. I tried the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. This couldn't be good. I snuck up as quietly as I could behind the guy that was leaning over Kenzie, holding a knife to her throat. She had her eyes closed and didn't notice me, which was probably good since I felt like I was about to faint. I saw a glass vase sitting on the kitchen table and grabbed it as I tip-toed up behind the guy.

"Looks like there's no one here to save you this time, princess." The guy whispered.

"Guess again!" I cried, my voice breaking as I tried (unsuccessfully) to sound heroic. I smashed the vase on top of the guy's head, sending glass flying all over the place. He screamed, lurching backwards as he tried to rub the glass shards out of his back.

I grabbed the knife that he had dropped, leaning over Kenzie. She was gazing up at me with relief in her eyes. I smiled at her as I quickly cut through the duct tape on her wrists and ankles.

"Oh thank goodness you're safe!" I hugged her tightly. She mumbled something and then I noticed the duct tape on her mouth.

"Oh, here, let me just…" grimacing, I timidly reached out and trying to pull it off slowly. She shut her eyes as it peeled off of her face. I squinted one of my eyes close, imagining how much this would hurt.

"Mnnooouchh!" she cried as it was removed from her mouth.

"Sorry!" I winced. She smiled slowly and hugged me. I held her for a moment, sighing. Then, the guy slammed into me. We were both knocked to the ground. I turned onto my back, staring up at the extremely large man who was holding a knife and currently glaring at me. Not a pretty sight.

"This doesn't involve you, so get out of my way!" he growled, walking over to me.

"It-it does involve me…ever since Kenzie trusted me with- well, everything, and-" I stuttered, trying to be brave and heroic. Major failure. The bad guy grabbed me by my collar, thrusting me off of the ground. He held me up to his face.

"What? I don't think I quite heard that." He muttered. I tried to pull his hands off of me as I gasped for air. He just smiled and then threw me across the room. I fell into a bookshelf in the living room, landing on the ground with a very bruised side.

"Ouch…" I mumbled, trying to get back up. Then, there was a creaking noise as the bookshelf fell over, pinning me down by my legs. "Augghh!" I cried.

"RILEY…!" I heard Kenzie scream. I looked up to see her running out of the cabin, making her way into the woods as the mean guy followed her, knife in hand. She cast one last worried look over at me before disappearing.

"Kenzie! I'm- wait! I'm kind of stuck here, and… help?" I talked, no one obviously coming to help. I tried to shift my position so that I could get some leverage to get out from under the bookcase, which had thankfully not crushed my legs. I'm glad that it wasn't the most sturdy, solid bookcase in the world. Algonkian Regional Park sure wasn't very picky on the quality of their furniture.

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"Well, Sadusky and his men are coming." I told Ben as I walked back over to him, noticing his cut. "Here, let me help you with that." I suggested, helping him sit down. I opened the back of what was left of our car and managed to find some germ-x and Kleenex.

"Is this going to sting?" He asked, squinting his eyes shut as I returned.

"Only a little." I laughed. Pouring a dab of the clear liquid on a Kleenex, I carefully wiped the blood off of his forehead. He winced, inhaling sharply. I bit the side of my mouth as I finished cleaning the cut. "There." I wadded the Kleenex up.

"You lied." He said, looking over at me again.

"Only so that you wouldn't worry." I laughed. He smiled and leaned in closer.

"Me too." He whispered. I gazed at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Abigail, What I've been keeping from you…it's just-" He started to say.

"No, don't worry about it anymore. Sometimes you need to keep things secret, I get that now. Just consider it forgotten." I told him, shaking my head. He leaned in even closer, his brown eyes studying me. Without really even realizing it, I leaned in and we kissed. I slowly relaxed, closing my eyes and forgetting everything else.

"Abigail?" he asked suddenly, pulling away from me.

"Yes?" I asked, for some reason breathless. He removed something from his pocket. It looked like… a small blue box- a jewelry box. My heart sped up as I stared at it.

"Will you… marry me?" he whispered, snapping open the box. I was speechless as I stared at the ring, my mind going blank.

"You- that's what you were worried about this whole time?" I asked, blinking as I looked up into his face.

"Is that a yes?" he smiled nervously.

"Yes- yes of course!" I laughed, tears running down my face as I hugged him, leaning in for another kiss.

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I panted as I stopped running, kneeling on the ground. Looking around, I felt hopelessness seep into me. _He _could be anywhere by now, waiting for me to give up. I just couldn't get the image of Riley out of my mind; he was trapped under that bookshelf and I had just left him. I-I should've…I don't know. I had no clue what to do right now, everyone was gone. Agent Davis, Riley, I didn't even know where Ben and Abigail were right now, but they were probably in trouble too.

"This is all my fault…" I cried, tears falling from my eyes as I lowered my head. Why couldn't everything of stayed the way it was, at least then things would've been okay for the others.

"Hey princess…" I heard someone whisper. Startled, I whipped my head back up. _He _was standing right there, holding the knife and smirking at me. I stood up and immediately took off sprinting. I didn't know where I was going, just away from him.

Coming into a clearing, I slowed, trying to hear if he was nearby. I could only hear my heart as it beat furiously in my chest. Then, I fell to the ground as I tripped over something.

"Oommff." I landed on my back. Looking up, _he _smiled.

"Thought that you could get away from me? Welcome back to reality, babe."

I held my breath as I stared at him, hearing far-off sirens. The FBI was coming. Shakily, I stood back up and glanced around for an escape. We were surrounded by trees and tall grass, and I could hear running water somewhere nearby. _He _kept getting closer, taking on an almost in-human expression as he clutched the knife. This wasn't the first time I thought that he was insane, but this time it seemed like I was right.

"Kenzie!" I could hear Riley as he ran through the woods, searching for me. I could hear others running, FBI agents coming to stop _him. _And yet, they were all too far away. I wasn't going to make it. _He _raised the knife up, ready to stab me. My eyes were wide as I tried to remember how to run. It was no use, I was frozen with fear and the knife was coming towards me too fast. I closed my eyes, turning my head as he plunged the knife down towards me.

And then, Riley cried out in pain as he fell into me. I gasped as we tumbled backwards through the weeds down a hill and into a small stream. I heard a shot ring out and I looked up to see _him _collapse on the ground, dead. I sighed with relief, it was over.

Then, I became aware of Riley lying next to me in the shallow water. He was gasping in short, quick breaths and clutching his chest. I crawled over to him, staring at his ripped shirt that exposed the long gash. Blood flowed from his shoulder and chest, a thin line snaked between where the knife had caught him. He glanced up at me as I came near.

"Why?" I asked softly, tears in my eyes as I laid next to him, hugging him.

"That's what friends do…" he grunted, "They make sure that their friends won't get hurt." He whispered softly, turning his head towards me as his eyes closed. I leaned against him, feeling his slow, ragged breath as it grew fainter and fainter…

"Down there!" Someone called out from the clearing. I was barely aware of the commotion of people, only the faint heartbeat in Riley's chest. Someone tried to pick me up, to take me away from Riley. I moaned, reaching out for Riley.

"Riley, no..." I cried.

"Leave her with him." Someone whispered to whoever was trying to take me away. I was laid down in a smaller space, a cold, metallic space. I heard some doors close and then sirens. I held Riley's hand, closing my eyes as I feel asleep.

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Abigail leaned against me as we waited in the emergency room, the first morning light being seen from the small windows. I rubbed her arm absent-mindly as I stared into space, wondering how Riley was doing, if he was okay. She squeezed my arm reassuringly, managing a weak smile. I smiled back, kissing her softly.

We both glanced over at the next chair where Kenzie was curled up, asleep. I hoped Riley was okay, if only for her sake.

"Mr. Gates?" a doctor asked, looking up from his clipboard. I nodded and me and Abigail followed him down a hallway. She was about to wake up Kenzie, but I stopped her.

"Let her sleep until we know more." I whispered. She nodded and we followed the doctor into a room.

"Now, he's probably not going to be himself for a few days, but we expect a complete recovery very soon." The doctor explained as he pulled the curtain back from Riley's bed. I looked down at my unconscious best friend, seeing his unusually pale, gaunt face. He looked so…small and weak, not at all the light-hearted guy that he usually was.

"Are you sure?" I asked softly.

"Yes, don't be worried. He'll be getting his color back before you know it. That was pretty heroic, what he did, saving that girl and all."

"Yeah, yeah it was." I mumbled.

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I ran my hand down Riley's face, smiling slightly. I could see that he was finally looking like himself again. Standing back up, I tucked my present on his bedside table. Glancing back at him, I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. He smiled, his eyes still closed. I walked out the door, making sure not to wake him.

"Mackenzie!" I heard Ben call out. I spun around to him.

"Yeah?" I asked, glad that I had my voice was back.

"I have a surprise for you." He told me as we walked down the hallway.

"Oh really?" I smiled, "What, a little reward for causing all this trouble?"

"Trouble? What trouble? I see it as more of an… adventure." He smiled back at me. I stopped.

"Are you always this way? Making others feel better?"

"It's just, you've been through a lot lately, and I wanted to give you something to kind of… cheer you up." He told me.

"What could possibly cheer me up?" I asked.

"Kenzie?" I heard a familiar voice call out from down the hall. Ben smiled as I turned around, astonished. There, at the end of the hallway was a middle-aged woman with graying hair, staring at me with tear-filled eyes.

"Mom?" I whispered, starting to cry. She smiled and I ran towards her. "Mom!" I cried, jumping into her arms. She spun me around, laughing. I looked back down the hallway at Ben, who was watching with a smile. I mouthed 'thank you' to him and he nodded back, walking away.

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My eyes flickered open, and I gazed around at the clean, white room I was in. There were about a million flowers filling all the empty space, and I groaned as the sun shone in my eyes.

"Ben?" I called out weakly. Someone walked into the room.

"You're awake! Oh, Ben! Ben, come in here!" Abigail cried as she rushed over to me. Ben joined her.

"Hey guys, what happened? They catch that guy?" I asked.

"Yeah, they caught him. We never have to worry about him ever again." Ben rubbed my shoulder. I stared at him and Abigail. For some reason, they seemed unusually happy.

"Okay…what happened? You two seem like you're about to burst with joy. Sheesh, you should see your smiles, they could burn a guy's eyes out." The two just smiled at each other. That's when I noticed Abigail's ring.

"Alright Ben! You finally proposed! About time too, I was about to propose for you." I smiled. They both laughed.

"It's good to have you back Riley." Abigail smiled. I looked around.

"Hey, where's Kenzie?" I asked. Their smiles fell in record time.

"She-she left a day or two ago. I thought that she'd be back, but…" Ben shrugged. I shrank into my sheets, disappointment flooding my spirits.

"Riley, I'm sorry." Abigail said, touching my shoulder.

"No-no, it's okay. I'm fine." I reassured them.

"I think she left something for you on your table. Hey, we're going out to eat. We'll try to sneak you back some real food." Ben said.

"Thanks Ben, you're a lifesaver." I called out as they left my room. I was still for a while after they left, trying not to fell completely hopeless. Kenzie would come back, I'm (almost) sure. Reaching over to my table, I picked up a sheet of paper. I almost dropped it again.

Kenzie had drawn me, almost too realistic. I stared at it for a full five minutes, studying every little detail. Down in one of the corners, I read:

_For Riley, a good friend to someone who doesn't deserve one._

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A/N: don't worry! There's still another chapter! I promise, it's a happy ending, but you must read on. Thank you those of you who gave me such great reviews! I enjoyed reading them. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but at least I didn't end with a huge cliff hanger this time. I was going to end this chapter with Kenzie hearing Riley's breath growing fainter and fainter, but I figured people would hate me too much if I did that. Alright, stay tuned for the last chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

A/N: Alright, this is the last chapter! You ready? N.T. belongs to Disney, and Kenzie, Davis (I bet you thought I forgot about him in the last chapter, didn't you?), and dead bad guy still without a name belong to me. Enjoy! P.S. yea, another song! Words in **bold **are from the song **here (in your arms) **by Hellogoodbye. I LOVE that song! 

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I walked into the ballroom with Ben and Abigail, barely paying any attention to the decorations or music. My mind wasn't quite ready to go to big parties again, but Ben and Abigail had insisted. This one, after all, was in honor of us (as if they all weren't). I noticed Agent Davis as he walked over to us, wearing a big smile.

"Hey guys, it's good to see you again!" his loud voice boomed.

"Same to you, especially since you're better." Abigail smiled.

"What, you think I'd let a little injury stop me? Nah, it wasn't half as bad as what Riley there suffered through." He clapped me on my back. I almost fell forward from the force. "Oh, sorry there." He apologized.

"No problem, next time just make sure you know your own strength." I smiled over at him.

"Hey, I have to go help Sadusky. Could you believe that he was considering retiring? He wouldn't know what to do with all the free time. Well, have fun!" he waved, walking off.

The ballroom we were in was in one of the top floors of a hotel. It had big, huge windows on almost every wall, giving us a great view of Washington D.C. There was a door on one side that led out to a large balcony where it looked somewhat more private and quiet than in here.

I looked over to Ben and Abigail and saw that they were busy talking with some people. The music was just beginning to play in the ballroom, and some guests had already begun to dance. I sighed and walked over to the bar counter where they had set up a snack table. Sitting down, I glumly picked up a cup of punch.

"Riley? What are you doing over here?" Ben asked as he leaned against the bar next to me.

"Oh, nothing." I replied.

"You aren't still thinking about Kenzie, now are you?"

I shrugged, twirling the cup around in my hands.

"Come on, it's been almost a month since then! Come out here and join the party." He said, trying to get me to follow him back out onto the dance floor.

"Look, Ben, I'm just not really in a party mood." I sighed, setting my punch down.

"Alright, fine. But if you change your mind…" He smiled, walking off.

"Why would I change my mind?" I popped a cube of cheese into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. I watched the people on the dance floor, seeing them laughing and smiling. That only made me feel worse.

"You look kind of lonely," I heard a girl behind me say, "Mind if I join you?"

"Actually, I really don't want -" I sighed, turning around. I paused, mid-sentence, as soon as I saw her.

"K-Kenzie?" I whispered. She laughed, nodding. Her glowing face was framed by dark ringlets of hair and she was wearing a beautiful silver cocktail dress. It was sleeveless and somewhat short, so you could see some of her bruised skin, but she looked as if she didn't mind. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, and she seemed so much more…carefree. She seemed to have more charisma now, and it made me feel like she was all that more attractive, whether she was covered in bruises or not.

"You-you're here!" I cried, jumping up and hugging her. She giggled as I spun her around.

"Of course I'm here!"

"But- I thought that you were…gone." I said, sitting back down. She sat next to me, facing me.

"Look, that was my plan at first. I mean, I just caused so much trouble and…you-you almost died." She took a ragged breath. I reached out and took her hand.

"I'm fine, now." I told her. She smiled again.

"I know, I just wasn't sure if- I guess I was just afraid. But, me and my mom had a talk and she convinced me that I would probably do more harm by leaving. She would know, seeing as how I did the same thing to her." She spoke quietly. I stared at her, reaching a hand out to her face to rub a tear away. She glanced back up at me.

"Do you know how much I missed you?" I whispered. She blinked, leaning closer. We slowly kissed, and I felt like there was nothing else in world except for us.

**I like where we are**

**When we drive in your car**

**I like where we are**

**Here.**

"Oh, I LOVE this song!" Kenzie smiled, standing up.

"Do you want to dance? I mean, with me?" I asked shyly. She smiled and nodded, before dragging me onto the dance floor. We were soon in the middle of the mass of people dancing. The lights had been turned down low, and colored lights twirled around us. I felt happy, the first time in a few weeks.

**Cause our lips can touch**

**And our cheeks can brush**

**Our lips can touch**

**Here.**

**Well y****ou are the one**

**The one that lies close to me**

**Whispers hello I miss you quite terribly**

**I fell in love **

**In love with you suddenly**

**Now there's no place else I could be **

**But here in your arms**

I saw Ben and Abigail dancing nearby and smiled over at them. They waved while dancing close to each other. Looking around, I noticed all sorts of people out here with us, from agent Davis to a few people from the national archives, and even Sadusky. Kenzie and I glanced at each other, laughing.

**I like where you sleep**

**When you sleep next to me**

**I like where you sleep**

**Here.**

**Our lips can touch**

**And our cheeks can brush**

**Cause o****ur lips can touch**

**Here.**

**Well y****ou are the one**

**The one that lies close to me**

**Whispers hello I miss you quite terribly**

**I fell in love**

**In love with you suddenly**

**Now there's no place else I could be **

**But here in your arms**

I watched Kenzie as she spun around, her hair shining in the colored lights in the ballroom. Her dress sparkled as she danced, and I gazed at her, transfixed. She noticed me staring and smiled, grabbing my hand. She pulled me close, and we stopped for a moment, staring in each other's eyes.

**Our lips can touch**

**Our lips can touch**

**Here.**

I leaned close, my lips grazing past the side of Kenzie's face. Her eyelashes fluttered close, and I could smell her perfume faintly.

"I love you…" I breathed into Kenzie's ear. She glanced up quickly, eyes wide. I smiled and stared at my feet. She placed her hands around my neck, pulling me closer to her.

"I love you too." She whispered, a small smile on her face. We both laughed softly as we spun around slowly, the commotion of the dance floor seeming to disappear.

**Well you are the one**

**The one that lies close to me**

**Whispers hello I miss you quite terribly**

**I fell in love**

**In love with you suddenly**

**Now there's no place else I could be **

**But here in your arms**

**Well you are the one**

**The one that lies close to me**

**Whispers hello I miss you quite terribly**

**I fell in love**

**In love with you suddenly**

**Now there's no place else I could be **

**But here in your arms**

Everyone was jumping around the ballroom, laughing and smiling, but me and Kenzie just held each other, swaying as we leaned in for another kiss.

**Here in your arms**

All the noise of the crowd we had been in seemed to disappear as we kissed, and I couldn't have cared less.

**Here in your arms**

All of a sudden, applause burst out and we both looked up, surprised to see everyone watching us. I saw Ben and Abigail whistling, clapping and laughing. I held onto Kenzie as we both burst out laughing. We made our escape to the balcony as the next song started.

"So Riley," Kenzie turned to face me again, "Have you found out what you like to do, What you want to spend the rest of your life doing?"

"Well, right now I wouldn't mind spending it with you." I smiled. She smiled back.

"Stop being so romantic, you're killing me." She joked. I pulled her close again.

"Admit it, you like it." I whispered. Her smile grew wider and we kissed again, the wind blowing her hair around us like a dark veil, shielding us from the world. I closed my eyes, feeling completely safe and happy.

Who could've asked for a better ending?

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A/N: return of the fluff! Seriously, they kissed about a million times, but hey, that's my fault. Alright, to straighten some things out: Ben& Abigail engaged, Kenzie & Riley currently kissing on the balcony…Bad guy (_him) _dead, Davis all better, Sadusky NOT retired, Kenzie& mom reunited. And, yes, I realize that at the beginning of the story I said that Kenzie and Abigail were sharing a room, but that apparently wasn't true, so sorry about that. Well, how did you like it? Then review! Thank you to all of you who spent time reading this, despite my computer troubles I had with chapter four. You guys are great! I'll try to write a new story soon! Bye!


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